Summary: Hoss isn\u2019t sure whether Little Joe\u2019s latest get-rich-quick scheme will leave him rich beyond his boldest dreams or dead in the desert.<\/p>\n
Written for the 2018 Ponderosa Paddlewheel Poker Tournament.\u00a0 The card \u201csuits\u201d were:<\/p>\n
Anatomy (body parts)
\nFears
\nWhat Women Want
\nThings Found in a Saddlebag<\/p>\n
Rated:\u00a0\u00a0 K+\u00a0 24,400 words<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
A Diamond in the Desert <\/strong><\/p>\n Little Joe, usually the last and most reluctant Cartwright to leave his bed, was up early and eager to get out the door, scarcely taking time for breakfast.\u00a0 That was only typical of the young man when he was excited about something; he was today and everyone knew why.\u00a0 At least, they thought they did.<\/p>\n \u201cWhy is it you\u2019re never this bright eyed and bushy tailed when there\u2019s a day\u2019s work waiting?\u201d his oldest brother Adam asked, a half-smile lifting a corner of his mouth.<\/p>\n \u201cBecause work will always wait, older brother,\u201d Little Joe tossed back with a grin.\u00a0 Nothing could dampen his mood this morning.\u00a0 He\u2019d been looking forward to this trip for what seemed like an eternity to the twenty-year-old.\u00a0 How often, after all, did Pa grant any of them two weeks off to do as they pleased?\u00a0 Especially two of them at a time, but he\u2019d managed to wheedle Pa into letting both him and Hoss make a pleasure excursion into the mountains, to hunt and fish and refresh themselves for the hard roundup season just ahead.\u00a0 \u201cHaven\u2019t you had enough to eat yet, Hoss?\u201d he whined.\u00a0 \u201cDay\u2019s half gone.\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss snorted.\u00a0 \u201cHalf gone.\u00a0 Sun\u2019s barely up, little brother, and we got a long ride ahead of us, so I aim to fill up, just in case the fish ain\u2019t bitin\u2019 when we get there.\u201d<\/p>\n Little Joe nibbled his lower lip.\u00a0 There was something he needed to tell Hoss, but not here, in front of certain other parties.\u00a0 Preferably not until they were well down the trail, although they probably wouldn\u2019t get far before he had to spill the beans.\u00a0 Hoss might be gullible, but he wasn\u2019t a fool, and he knew the lay of the land better than anyone except the Indians, who were here long before them.<\/p>\n Hop Sing, the Cartwright\u2019s Chinese cook, hustled in from the kitchen with a large package wrapped in brown paper.\u00a0 \u201cHere, Mr. Hoss, you take,\u201d he ordered.\u00a0 \u201cIn case fish not bite.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAw, thanks, Hop Sing,\u201d Hoss said, holding the parcel up to his nose.\u00a0 \u201cUmm, umm, fried chicken.\u00a0 I don\u2019t even care whether them fish bite now.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, yeah, so can we go?\u201d Little Joe demanded.<\/p>\n Their father, Ben Cartwright, loudly cleared his throat.\u00a0 \u201cNot until you\u2019ve thanked Hop Sing for providing for you, Joseph.\u201d<\/p>\n A quick glance confirmed that the cook was frowning at him, so Little Joe hurried to say, \u201cOh, sure.\u00a0 I was going to do that, as soon as I got Hoss headed for the door.\u00a0 It was real thoughtful of you to fix us a meal, Hop Sing.\u00a0 We\u2019ll be sure to bring you back some fresh trout.\u201d<\/p>\n The little Oriental was all smiles again.\u00a0 \u201cYou have good time, Little Joe, and be good boy.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cCan he possibly do both?\u201d Adam inquired with a small smirk.<\/p>\n \u201cJust watch me, older brother,\u201d Little Joe teased back.<\/p>\n Adam laughed aloud.\u00a0 \u201cSomeone needs to!\u201d\u00a0 Looking toward his other brother, he added, \u201cI suppose that responsibility falls to you.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cUsually does,\u201d Hoss jibed.<\/p>\n \u201cYou are our brother\u2019s keeper,\u201d Adam intoned in a voice best suited to a pulpit.<\/p>\n \u201cArgh!\u201d Little Joe growled.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m gonna check the horses, just in case you ever make it out the door.\u201d\u00a0 He strode across the room and left, giving the front door an energetic pull behind him.<\/p>\n Hearing the slam, Ben winced and shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cAll joking aside,\u201d he said to Hoss, \u201cdo keep an eye on him, all right?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSure, Pa,\u201d Hoss agreed readily.\u00a0 \u201cBesides, what kind of trouble could he get into, up in the mountains?\u201d<\/p>\n Adam cleared his throat loudly enough to draw attention.\u00a0 \u201cYou do remember this is Joe we\u2019re talking about?\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss nodded as he grinned.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll keep an eye on him,\u201d he promised as he plopped his tall hat on his head and went out the door.<\/p>\n Ben turned to his oldest son and asked, \u201cDo you know what they\u2019re up to?\u201d<\/p>\n Adam arched an eloquent eyebrow.\u00a0 \u201cThey?\u201d he asked significantly.<\/p>\n Since Adam was the son whose thinking most often matched his own, Ben immediately understood the meaning of that single word.\u00a0 He smiled and corrected himself.\u00a0 \u201cHe.\u00a0 Do you know what he\u2019s up to?\u201d\u00a0 He knew as well as Adam that if there were any mischief plotted, Hoss was not likely to be its instigator; in fact, he probably had no more knowledge of it than either of them.<\/p>\n \u201cNot a clue,\u201d Adam said dryly, \u201cand I think I\u2019d just as soon keep it that way.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cUm, I see your point,\u201d Ben said, nodding.\u00a0 \u201cI just hope it\u2019s nothing too drastic.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd preferably nonfatal,\u201d Adam added with a grin.<\/p>\n \u201cPreferably,\u201d Ben chuckled in agreement.<\/p>\n *****<\/p>\n Little Joe kept up a constant stream of meaningless chatter as he and his brother rode out from the Ponderosa.\u00a0 That was sort of normal for him, of course, but he usually left space here and there for someone else to get a word in.\u00a0 Not today.\u00a0 Hoss didn\u2019t pay it any mind at first\u2014just Joe bein\u2019 Joe, so full of energy it had to go somewhere, even if the only place was out his mouth.\u00a0 Finally, though, Hoss quit listening and started looking around, and that\u2019s when he realized something was wrong.\u00a0 \u201cHey, Joe,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Joe strung words together all the faster, and it dawned on Hoss that his little brother was trying to distract him.\u00a0 He reined up and hollered ahead, \u201cJoe!\u00a0 You\u2019re goin\u2019 east, boy.\u00a0 The mountains is west!\u201d<\/p>\n Taking a deep breath, Little Joe swung his horse around.\u00a0 \u201cNot all of \u2018em,\u201d he said with a nervous titter.<\/p>\n Hoss frowned deeply.\u00a0 He couldn\u2019t deny the truth of what his little brother had said.\u00a0 Nevada was made up of a whole string of parallel mountain ranges, and all but one of \u2018em were to the east of the Ponderosa.\u00a0 He had assumed, however, as any reasonable man would, that they would do their hunting and fishing in the closest and likeliest place, namely the Sierra Nevada range that skirted their sweeping ranch. \u00a0\u00a0\u201cJust which of these mountains are you aimin\u2019 for, little brother?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat difference does that make?\u201d\u00a0 Little Joe let his green-broke mount prance with the impatience he himself was feeling.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ll be able to hunt and fish in \u2018most any of \u2018em.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI got a feeling it makes a heap of difference,\u201d Hoss said, lips puckering together in a straight, hard line.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ll explain it all later,\u201d Little Joe said.\u00a0 \u201cLook, Hoss, we got a long way to go, and you\u2019re stoppin\u2019 us when we\u2019ve barely got started.\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss\u2019s frown deepened.\u00a0 \u201cLight down off that horse, boy,\u201d he ordered.<\/p>\n \u201cHoss.\u201d\u00a0 The way Little Joe drawled out his brother\u2019s name was practically a whine.<\/p>\n \u201cLight down, Joseph,\u201d Hoss said more firmly, \u201cor so help me, I\u2019ll drag you out of that saddle, and I can\u2019t promise to be gentle about it.\u201d<\/p>\n Little Joe gave his bigger brother a penetrating look.\u00a0 Most of the time Hoss was all bark and no bite, and he would never intentionally hurt his little brother.\u00a0 However, you could only push him so far, and he had been known, on occasion, to misjudge his own strength.\u00a0 Whatever he saw in his brother\u2019s countenance, Little Joe promptly obeyed the order to \u201clight down\u201d from his horse.<\/p>\n \u201cI can explain,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cGet to it, then,\u201d Hoss said as he dismounted and planted his fearsome figure in front of the younger boy.<\/p>\n Little Joe raised his palms and waved them before his brother\u2019s face.\u00a0 \u201cAll right, all right.\u00a0 Calm down.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cJoseph,\u201d Hoss said in a cautionary tone.<\/p>\n \u201cOkay.\u201d\u00a0 Little Joe exhaled with exasperation and gazed back at Hoss with his best impression of a sad puppy.\u00a0 \u201cI wanted to surprise you, but if you\u2019re just gonna insist on spoilin\u2019 it . . .\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI think I am, Joseph.\u201d\u00a0 Folding his arms and jutting out his chin, Hoss steeled himself to resist his little brother\u2019s well-earned reputation for charming the birds out of the trees.<\/p>\n Little Joe sighed.\u00a0 He really had hoped to be much further from home, well past the point of turning back, when this conversation took place, but apparently there was no help for it.\u00a0 \u201cOkay.\u00a0 Back about a month ago . . .\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you started wheedlin\u2019 Pa to let us take time off,\u201d Hoss put in.<\/p>\n \u201cRight before I asked him, yeah.\u201d\u00a0 Little Joe took a deep breath.\u00a0 \u201cWell, the reason I asked is I got in this poker game.\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss winced.\u00a0 \u201cYou been playin\u2019 poker?\u00a0 You know what Pa thinks about that.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat he don\u2019t want me to grow up to be a river boat gambler,\u201d Little Joe half-quoted with a roll of his eyes, quickly assuring his brother, \u201cand I won\u2019t.\u00a0 This was just a friendly little game.\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss sighed deeply.\u00a0 \u201cHow much did you lose?\u201d<\/p>\n Little Joe brightened.\u00a0 \u201cIs that what you\u2019re worried about, big brother?\u00a0 That\u2019s real kind of you, but not at all necessary.\u00a0 I won the whole pot!\u00a0 Including one mighty special little something that I\u2019d really like to keep as a surprise.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYour surprises can be downright dangerous,\u201d Hoss said, doing his best to look severe and not just plain curious, an itch of which was already beginning to crawl up his insides.<\/p>\n \u201cNo danger here, brother,\u201d Little Joe said enthusiastically.\u00a0 \u201cThis is the chance of a lifetime, something that could set us up for a lifetime, if you know what I mean.\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss lifted his shaking head toward the heavens, although he couldn\u2019t possibly have seen help coming from there, since he closed his eyes at the same time.<\/p>\n \u201cHoss, pay attention,\u201d Little Joe chided.\u00a0 \u201cThis is important.\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss suddenly felt bad.\u00a0 Here he\u2019d demanded an explanation from his little brother, and now he wasn\u2019t even listening to him, although it was mighty hard with all the noise of past experience swirling through his head.\u00a0 \u201cUh, yeah, sorry, Joe.\u00a0 You go right ahead.\u201d<\/p>\n Little Joe took another deep, bolstering breath.\u00a0 \u201cSo, like I said, I won big in the poker game, made more than $200.\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss grinned broadly.\u00a0 \u201cYeah?\u00a0 That\u2019s great, little brother.\u00a0 Sure sounds like you\u2019re playin\u2019 better than you used to.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah,\u201d Little Joe said with a proud lift of his chin.\u00a0 \u201cI been takin\u2019 lessons on poker-face from our sober-sided brother, and I guess it\u2019s working.\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss\u2019s broad brow furrowed.\u00a0 \u201cStill don\u2019t see how winning $200 gets us goin\u2019 east, instead of up into the Sierras to hunt and fish.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo, no, no,\u201d Little Joe hurried to say.\u00a0 \u201cNot the money, although it helped me put together some supplies we\u2019ll need.\u00a0 I got them cached up ahead, so why don\u2019t we mount up and . . .\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo, Joseph.\u201d\u00a0 Hoss managed to turn a deaf ear to Joe\u2019s deliberate distraction long enough to remember the main question he was trying to get an answer to. \u201cWhy . . .\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAre we going east,\u201d Little Joe finished with a gusty exhale.\u00a0 \u201cOkay.\u00a0 Well, that\u2019s because I didn\u2019t just win the money.\u00a0 I won something better than money, something that\u2019ll keep bringin\u2019 us money for years to come, Hoss!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh, no,\u201d Hoss groaned, burying his face in his wide palm.\u00a0 Not another one of Little Joe\u2019s get-rich-quick schemes.\u00a0 He\u2019d already been burned by those more times than his ability with ciphers could count.<\/p>\n \u201cNow, don\u2019t be that way!\u201d Little Joe cried.\u00a0 \u201cHere I am, doin\u2019 my best to look out for your welfare, to get you the kind of security that\u2019ll let you do whatever you want with your life . . . buy your own little piece of land or invest in special breeding stock or anything else you please, and all you can do is moan and groan before you even hear what a great opportunity this is.\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss looked instantly repentant.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m sorry, Joe.\u00a0 I wasn\u2019t lookin\u2019 at it like that.\u00a0 It\u2019s real good of you to think of me and all, but it\u2019s hard to get past you feelin\u2019 you had to trick me into comin\u2019 on this here little . . . whatever it is.\u00a0 You ain\u2019t told me yet.\u201d<\/p>\n Little Joe\u2019s face was the picture of offended innocence as he pressed his palm to his chest.\u00a0 \u201cTrick you?\u00a0 It\u2019s not a trick; it\u2019s a surprise. \u00a0You know, like a present . . . for your birthday.\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss\u2019s expression moved from repentant to puzzled. \u00a0\u201cMy birthday?\u00a0 It\u2019s nigh on to nine months \u2018til my birthday, little brother.\u00a0 Since when do you plan anything that far ahead?\u201d\u00a0 In truth, that his kid brother had thought to make plans a month ago for this trip showed more foresight than he\u2019d ever seen before.<\/p>\n Little Joe pulled a pout.\u00a0 \u201cPa and Adam been talkin\u2019 to me about that, and I\u2019m tryin\u2019, Hoss, honest I am.\u00a0 A fellow could use a little encouragement, you know, instead of always bein\u2019 fussed at for failin\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss wrapped one long arm around his brother\u2019s slim shoulders.\u00a0 \u201cAw, I\u2019m sorry, little brother; I didn\u2019t mean to be fussin\u2019.\u00a0 But now that you\u2019ve mentioned my birthday, don\u2019t you think you could give me a little hint.\u201d\u00a0 His head bobbed up and down, like a kid eager to get into some carefully wrapped package with a bow on top . . . and, maybe, a bag of sweetening tied on for decoration.\u00a0 Ma\u2014Joe\u2019s ma, to be real specific\u2014had done that a time or two, and old as he was, he still missed seeing that little bag on his birthday present.<\/p>\n \u201cWell, it\u2019d take a lot of time to dig it out of our supplies right now,\u201d Little Joe argued.\u00a0 \u201cCan\u2019t you wait \u2018til we make camp tonight, when it would be easier, instead of doin\u2019 it here, under the hot sun?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh, I reckon,\u201d Hoss said.\u00a0 \u201cI didn\u2019t mean to make no extra trouble for you.\u201d<\/p>\n Smiling like the Cheshire cat, Little Joe patted his brother\u2019s brawny arm.\u00a0 \u201cThat\u2019s all right, Hoss; don\u2019t think a thing of it.\u201d\u00a0 He quickly mounted his horse and headed down the trail, going east.\u00a0 A day\u2019s ride would take them far enough to make it easier to persuade Hoss to keep going; he\u2019d be sure to let his big brother eat his fill of fried chicken, too, so he\u2019d be content and much more open to suggestion.<\/p>\n *****<\/p>\n Little Joe added a few more sticks to the campfire over which their supper coffee had brewed and stretched his bedroll out just the right distance to keep him warm through the night without one side being charred and the other turning to ice.\u00a0 He yawned prodigiously.<\/p>\n \u201cI ain\u2019t forgot, Joseph,\u201d his older brother said.\u00a0 \u201cNow, you been lollygaggin\u2019 around camp long enough.\u00a0 Where\u2019s my birthday present?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNow, Hoss,\u201d Little Joe said.\u00a0 \u201cI never said I had your birthday present here; I said it was a surprise, like<\/em> a birthday present.\u201d<\/p>\n Frowning, Hoss cast his mind back, trying to remember what his little brother had said.\u00a0 He couldn\u2019t remember the exact words, and one thing he should have remembered was that with Little Joe, the exact words mattered, sometimes a whole lot.\u00a0 One thing, however, he did recall clearly.\u00a0 \u201cYou said you was gonna show this here present or surprise or whatever it is to me after we made camp tonight.\u00a0 Now, we\u2019ve made camp, so it\u2019s time, little brother, any way you look at it.\u201d<\/p>\n Little Joe nodded.\u00a0 \u201cSure, sure.\u00a0 I\u2019ll get it.\u00a0 I just didn\u2019t want you thinkin\u2019 you wouldn\u2019t be gettin\u2019 an actual present, come your real birthday.\u201d<\/p>\n Every wrinkle of worry fled from Hoss\u2019s brow.\u00a0 \u201cAw, that\u2019s real thoughtful of you, Little Joe.\u201d\u00a0 His face lighted up with expectation.\u00a0 \u201cSo, where it is, huh?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ll get it.\u201d\u00a0 Little Joe moved slowly toward his saddle bags.\u00a0 Now that the time had come, he was beginning to question his plan to keep this secret until now.\u00a0 He\u2019d had to, of course; if he\u2019d let Hoss in on it any sooner, his big brother, who couldn\u2019t keep a secret if his life depended on it, would have long since spilled the beans to either Pa or Adam, probably both, and they\u2019d have either laughed their fool heads off or tried to talk him out of what his poker opponent had assured him was a sure thing.\u00a0 Not to mention how Pa was likely to react to the mere mention of poker.<\/p>\n Dawdling as long as he dared, he drew out the yellowed paper and walked back toward the campfire, where Hoss was polishing off the last chicken leg.\u00a0 He planted himself in front of Hoss, holding both hands behind his back, and pasted a sloppy grin on his face.\u00a0 \u201cGuess,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cAint much guessin\u2019 to it,\u201d Hoss said.\u00a0 \u201cI already seen it\u2019s a piece of paper.\u00a0 Some kind of deed, I reckon.\u201d<\/p>\n Little Joe\u2019s grin faded.\u00a0 \u201cWell, no, not exactly,\u201d he said.\u00a0 Then his expression brightened again.\u00a0 \u201cJust as good, though.\u00a0 What we got here is a map.\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss groaned.\u00a0 \u201cTell me it ain\u2019t to the buried loot of some bank robber again.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cCourse not,\u201d Little Joe said, looking offended.\u00a0 \u201cHoss, I was thirteen when that happened.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, but that dead sure ain\u2019t the last time you led me down some turkey trail,\u201d Hoss said.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a genuine map,\u201d Little Joe insisted, \u201cbut if you ain\u2019t interested, just say so.\u00a0 I meant to share with you, but I can just as soon keep it for myself.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNow, don\u2019t go gettin\u2019 your dander up,\u201d Hoss said.\u00a0 \u201cI reckon I can, at least, listen.\u201d<\/p>\n Little Joe was all smiles again.\u00a0 \u201cThat\u2019s the spirit, brother.\u201d\u00a0 He came closer and spread the yellowed sheet open.\u00a0 \u201cThis is no turkey trail, as you can plainly see.\u00a0 This is the trail to the richest gold mine in these parts.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cA gold mine?\u00a0 Aw, Joe.\u201d\u00a0 Hoss slowly shook his head from side to side.\u00a0 This had all the feel of that long-ago map to the robbers\u2019 lair, sure enough.<\/p>\n \u201cNow, don\u2019t be that way,\u201d Little Joe protested.\u00a0 \u201cLook, maybe you\u2019re right; maybe it won\u2019t come to anything, but it\u2019s worth checking out, isn\u2019t it?\u00a0 If it turns out to be a bust, we\u2019ll just go back to our original plan of hunting and fishing for a couple of weeks.\u00a0 Nothing lost but a little time.\u00a0 But if you\u2019re wrong and I\u2019m right, well, then, big brother, we\u2019re rich!\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss pursed his lips in thought and then came out of it smiling, as the vision of gold coins floated before his face.\u00a0 \u201cWell, I guess you got a point there, little brother.\u00a0 So, whereabouts is this gold mine of ours?\u201d<\/p>\n Little Joe concentrated on folding the map carefully.\u00a0 \u201cWell, it\u2019s in the mountains up ahead,\u201d he mumbled.<\/p>\n \u201cWhich mountains?\u201d Hoss pressed.\u00a0 Little Joe had hedged that question more than once, and he had a feeling he needed to know.<\/p>\n \u201cWell, not that it makes any difference,\u201d Little Joe said, his voice dropping as he added, \u201cbut it\u2019s in the Humboldt Range.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe Humboldt Range!\u201d Hoss exploded.\u00a0 \u201cThat\u2019s nigh on to 200 miles!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNot from here,\u201d Little Joe said, head bobbing with encouragement.\u00a0 \u201cWe\u2019ve already come partway.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWith a heap more to go than we\u2019ve already come,\u201d Hoss said.\u00a0 \u201cYou have plumb lost your mind, Shortshanks.\u201d<\/p>\n Little Joe stared at his brother through narrowed eyes.\u00a0 \u201cWell . . . well, it sounds to me like you\u2019ve plumb lost your courage, your spirit of adventure, your get-up-and-go.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh, no, that\u2019s in fine shape,\u201d Hoss said.\u00a0 \u201cI am ready to get up and go right now . . . all the way home.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWell, go on, then!\u00a0 Run on back with your tail between your legs.\u00a0 I could\u2019ve used your help, totin\u2019 all that gold ore out of the mine, but I reckon I can manage without you.\u201d\u00a0 Little Joe turned his back and folded his arms.<\/p>\n Seeing that stubborn stance, Hoss gulped.\u00a0 \u201cAw, now, you know I ain\u2019t gonna leave you out here on your own.\u00a0 I couldn\u2019t never do that, little brother.\u201d<\/p>\n A crafty smile slid across Joe\u2019s face, which he kept carefully turned away from his older brother.\u00a0 \u201cI couldn\u2019t ask you to stay when I know your heart\u2019s not in it, Hoss.\u00a0 No, you go on back; I\u2019ll just have to press on alone, hard as it\u2019ll be, and hope I don\u2019t run into any kind of trouble I can\u2019t handle.\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss winced.\u00a0 Trouble he couldn\u2019t handle was exactly what Little Joe was known for running into, like he was a magnet for trouble\u2019s iron filings.\u00a0 \u201cJoe, I can\u2019t go home and leave you out here; you know I can\u2019t,\u201d Hoss said.\u00a0 \u201cPa\u2019d have my hide, especially since he made me promise to keep an eye on you.\u00a0 Besides, I just wouldn\u2019t feel right about it; it ain\u2019t safe for a man to travel this part of the territory on his own.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWell, I know that,\u201d Little Joe said, something that sounded a little like fear creeping into his voice, \u201cbut\u2014no, I just can\u2019t ask it of you, Hoss.\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss reached out and swung his younger brother around to face him.\u00a0 \u201cNow, you listen here, little brother: you ain\u2019t askin\u2019; I\u2019m tellin\u2019 you, I ain\u2019t leavin\u2019 you here.\u201d<\/p>\n Little Joe\u2019s face shone with the brightness of a full moon on a cloudless night.\u00a0 \u201cThen you\u2019ll stay and help me find the mine!\u00a0 Oh, that\u2019s great, Hoss!\u00a0 And you won\u2019t be disappointed, you\u2019ll see; we\u2019re gonna be rich as silver kings\u2014richer, even, \u2018cause this is gold.\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss\u2019s eyes glazed over.\u00a0 Joe always could talk circles around him \u2018til the world started spinning and he didn\u2019t know which side was up.\u00a0 Had he actually agreed to stay and keep looking for that fool gold mine?\u00a0 He wasn\u2019t sure he had, but Joe looked so excited and happy that Hoss just couldn\u2019t take it away from him.\u00a0 \u201cWell, yeah.\u00a0 Uh . . . it\u2019s the least I could do?\u201d<\/p>\n Little Joe heard the questioning hesitation but chose to ignore it.\u00a0 He clapped his brother on both broad shoulders and said enthusiastically.\u00a0 \u201cOh, no, brother, it\u2019s the most.\u00a0 You\u2019re the best brother ever!\u00a0 I\u2019d sure never get this kind of cooperation from Adam.\u201d\u00a0 Hoss\u2019s \u201caw-shucks\u201d expression was all he could have hoped for.<\/p>\n *****<\/p>\n By the time the Humboldts came into view, Hoss had begun to wish he was more like Adam, even if his little brother did label him uncooperative.\u00a0 So far, cooperating with Little Joe had gotten him nothing but a hot, dusty ride through some of the driest territory in Nevada, and he had a feeling that gold mine, if they ever found it, would be just as dry a hole.\u00a0 Why was it Pa and Adam could always see through Joe\u2019s twirling rope of words, while he found himself lassoed like a calf for branding every single time?\u00a0 He wasn\u2019t as smart as them, of course, but he always seemed to keep a steady head on his shoulders with everyone except this one connivin\u2019 little scoundrel, and he just couldn\u2019t figure out why.<\/p>\n When they finally reached the mountains, Hoss wanted to track some game or get in a little fishing first.\u00a0 \u201cWe gotta eat,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe got bread . . . and cheese,\u201d Little Joe said.<\/p>\n \u201cCheese!\u201d\u00a0 Hoss made a face like he was close to puking.<\/p>\n Little Joe pulled the map out of his saddlebag.\u00a0 \u201cLet\u2019s try to find the first landmark before we make camp, all right?\u00a0 Then, if there\u2019s a creek close by, you can fish some for supper.\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss scowled, but once again let himself be swayed by his brother\u2019s eager face.\u00a0 \u201cAll right,\u201d he grumbled, \u201cbut I ain\u2019t waitin\u2019 past tonight for a decent meal of some sort, you hear?\u201d<\/p>\n Lost in his perusal of the map, Little Joe didn\u2019t respond until Hoss asked the question a second time.\u00a0 \u201cOh, sure, sure.\u00a0 I get hungry, too, brother, but you don\u2019t see me complainin\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n That, Hoss told himself, was another sign that his little brother just plain didn\u2019t come equipped with common sense.<\/p>\n *****<\/p>\n Hoss lifted the sizzling pan to his nose and inhaled with appreciation.\u00a0 \u201cJoseph,\u201d he called.<\/p>\n Face buried in the map, as it had been ever since they made camp, Little Joe mumbled an incoherent response.<\/p>\n \u201cJoseph!\u201d<\/p>\n This time the volume and sharpness of his brother\u2019s voice made Little Joe lift his head.\u00a0 \u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSupper,\u201d Hoss grunted.\u00a0 \u201cCome and get it, such as it is.\u201d<\/p>\n Little Joe waved a dismissive hand in his brother\u2019s direction.\u00a0 \u201cTake all you want; I\u2019ll eat what\u2019s left.\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss shook his head.\u00a0 He was tempted to take his little brother up on his offer, for they\u2019d been late finding this stream, and the fish hadn\u2019t exactly been springing up onto the bank in their eagerness to feed the two men.\u00a0 He\u2019d only caught two, small ones at that, barely enough to keep his belly from growling all night long, but he wouldn\u2019t\u2019ve felt right, keeping them to himself.\u00a0 \u201cJoseph, put that thing away and get over here and eat your share,\u201d he ordered.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can have my share,\u201d Little Joe said.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m not all that hungry.\u201d<\/p>\n Probably true, Hoss knew.\u00a0 Joe, who could eat like a lumberjack at times, could just as easily forget to eat at all if something grabbed his attention, and it didn\u2019t even take something as enticing as a gold mine to do it.\u00a0 It was at times like that he truly had to become his brother\u2019s keeper, like the Good Book taught.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t wanna have to tote you out of here after you keel over in a dead faint, little brother,\u201d he said, his voice both sweet and mocking at the time, \u201cand that is what\u2019s gonna happen if\u2019n you don\u2019t put something in that flat belly of yours.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cArgh,\u201d Joe groaned, but he folded the map and stowed it carefully in his saddlebag before spearing one of the fish out of the pan.\u00a0 \u201cI sure thought we\u2019d have spotted a landmark by now,\u201d he said between bites.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019d think so,\u201d Hoss said.\u00a0 \u201cGuess whoever drew it wasn\u2019t much of a mapmaker, huh?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cGuess not.\u00a0 I\u2019ll give it another look in the morning.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah,\u201d Hoss said without enthusiasm.\u00a0 Another look and another and another, he figured.\u00a0 Once Joe got his mind set on something, he was awful hard to discourage, as his longsuffering older brother had good cause to remember.<\/p>\n *****<\/p>\n The next two days followed a similar pattern.\u00a0 Hoss woke each morning to the smell of coffee brewing and the sight of his little brother squinting at that infernal map in the dim light of daybreak.\u00a0 Each morning Little Joe was sure he\u2019d figured out the puzzle, and they\u2019d set off in a new direction, only to end the day dragging into another camp, no more game worthy than the last, and eking out a meal from whatever they could scrounge close at hand.\u00a0 \u201cMy belly thinks my throat\u2019s been cut,\u201d Hoss said on the second night, when he\u2019d come across nothing but a quail that took him about two bites to finish off.\u00a0 He\u2019d only had that much to eat because Little Joe had obligingly said he could make do with the last of the cheese.\u00a0 Hoss felt bad about taking the meat out of his little brother\u2019s mouth, but since he couldn\u2019t abide cheese, he took Joe up on the offer.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ll run across some game tomorrow,\u201d Little Joe said.\u00a0 \u201cBound to.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo,\u201d Hoss said, slowly and patiently, \u201cwe ain\u2019t gonna run across any game, little brother; we are takin\u2019 a day off to go lookin\u2019 for it.\u00a0 All the gold in Nevada won\u2019t do us a lick of good if\u2019n we die of starvation.\u201d<\/p>\n Little Joe opened his mouth to protest, but closed it just as quickly.\u00a0 Hoss was right; his own growling stomach told him that, and much as he hated to stop the search before finding the mine, common sense said they had to take care of the basic necessity of something to eat first.\u00a0 \u201cOkay,\u201d he agreed.\u00a0 \u201cIf we can bag a mule deer, that\u2019ll give us food for a few days, and we can get right back to the business we came for.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cLittle brother, hunting and fishing is the business I came for, remember?\u201d<\/p>\n Little Joe nodded with chagrin.\u00a0 Hoss had been a good sport about the change in plans; he could do no less than meet his older brother halfway.<\/p>\n *****<\/p>\n The hunting wasn\u2019t going well.\u00a0 By midafternoon they\u2019d still only managed to shoot one rabbit.\u00a0 That meant they could eat tonight, but Little Joe knew it wasn\u2019t enough, at least not for Hoss.\u00a0 He couldn\u2019t ask the big man to keep going on such short rations.\u00a0 It plain took more to fuel his brother\u2019s larger frame, so they\u2019d have to spend another day hunting, and if they didn\u2019t fare better than today, there was no way Hoss could be convinced to go back to looking for that mine.\u00a0 Even Little Joe was beginning to wonder whether it existed or if he\u2019d just been played for a fool in that poker game.<\/p>\n \u201cI think we ought to look for a place to camp,\u201d Hoss said as he dismounted.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not that late yet,\u201d Little Joe said, doing the same.\u201cYeah, but we\u2019re gonna have to go a ways to find a good spot.\u201d\u00a0 Hoss\u2019s nose wrinkled as he looked at the gravelly ridge to the west of them and the barren hill to the east.\u00a0 \u201cAin\u2019t nothin\u2019 hereabouts looks likely a-tall, and this stream ain\u2019t much more\u2019n a trickle.\u201d\u00a0 He bent to lay his near-empty canteen in the trickle.<\/p>\n Little Joe nodded grimly as he squatted beside his brother and began to fill his own canteen.\u00a0 \u201cLast night\u2019s campsite wasn\u2019t anything to brag about, either.\u00a0 I say we push ahead for a while, see if this stream broadens out\u2014maybe deep enough for some fish?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, that\u2019d make a good breakfast,\u201d Hoss said.\u00a0 \u201cHigher ground up ahead; let\u2019s try it.\u201d\u00a0 He palmed a handful from the trickling creek and took a good swallow of the tepid water.\u00a0 A mountain stream might give them good cold water to start the day tomorrow, too, even if it didn\u2019t hold any fish.\u00a0 He\u2019d just capped the canteen again and was moving back toward his horse when the big animal neighed wildly and took off\u2014straight up the gravelly ridge, with Little Joe\u2019s horse right behind him.<\/p>\n Little Joe dropped his canteen and took off after the animals, his boots slipping and sliding on the loose gravel.<\/p>\n \u201cBe careful!\u201d Hoss hollered as he, too, began to run up the ridge, totally ignoring his own advice.\u00a0 What else could they do, though?\u00a0 A man couldn\u2019t afford to be without a horse in this vast emptiness, and if something had driven their mounts crazy enough to take off straight up a hill, there wasn\u2019t much they could do but follow.\u00a0 They had to go fast, too, or the horses would get plumb away and leave them stranded.<\/p>\n Little Joe had the advantage of being fleet of foot and agile.\u00a0 While Hoss moved reasonably well on a dance floor, there was no way he could keep up with Little Joe, much less the horses, in a foot race.\u00a0 Still, he pushed ahead, despite the way his foot kept rolling out from under him.\u00a0 Suddenly, though, a sharp pain streaked up the back of his leg and he collapsed with a cry of pain that shot up the hill.<\/p>\n Hearing it, Little Joe stopped dead in his tracks.\u00a0 When he saw his brother crumpled up and grabbing his left leg, he scrambled back down, skidding the last few feet and plopping down beside Hoss.\u00a0 \u201cWhat is it?\u201d he asked anxiously.\u00a0 \u201cYou hurt?\u201d\u201cI think I broke it,\u201d Hoss said with a groan.\u00a0 \u201cI heard something pop.\u201d\u00a0 He suddenly realized what Joe\u2019s presence beside him meant.\u00a0 \u201cWhat are you thinking, boy?\u00a0 Get after them horses!\u201d<\/p>\n Little Joe shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cThey were already outrunning me, Hoss.\u00a0 Only way we\u2019re gonna catch up with \u2018em is if they stop.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMaybe they did.\u00a0 Go check,\u201d Hoss ordered.<\/p>\n \u201cSoon as I check you out,\u201d Little Joe insisted.\u00a0 \u201cIf they\u2019re stopped, they\u2019ll stay stopped, and if it\u2019s broke, brother, we better get that boot off before your foot commences to swell.\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss grimaced.\u00a0 \u201cYeah, okay; pull it off, and then go see about those crazy horses.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou sure?\u00a0 It\u2019s gonna hurt,\u201d Little Joe said.\u00a0 \u201cI could cut it off.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cJust pull it, will you?\u201d\u00a0 The pain kept him from realizing how loudly he was yelling at his brother.<\/p>\n \u201cOkay, okay,\u201d Little Joe said placatingly.\u00a0 \u201cBrace yourself.\u201d\u00a0 He grabbed the heel of Hoss\u2019s boot and, setting himself to ignore whatever sound his brother made, he pulled steadily until the boot came off and Hoss lay back on the gravel, unscrunching his facial muscles and breathing hard.\u00a0 \u201cSorry,\u201d Little Joe said, Hoss\u2019s scrunch instinctively transferring to his own face.<\/p>\n Hoss waved off the concern.\u00a0 \u201cHorses,\u201d he panted, pointing up the ridge.\u00a0 \u201cCareful.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cRight,\u201d Little Joe said and took off, proving once again that there wasn\u2019t a careful bone in his body.\u00a0 He wasn\u2019t gone long.\u00a0 From the top of the ridge, he had a sweeping view of the valley below, broad and empty\u2014no horse, no man, no sign of civilization as far as the eye could see.\u00a0 No doubt about it: they were in a pickle.\u00a0 He turned and made his way back down the slithering gravel so slowly that Hoss knew the bad news before he ever arrived to deliver it.<\/p>\n \u201cNow what, little brother?\u201d Hoss demanded, pain draining out his usual easy-going nature.\u00a0 \u201cDoggone, I sure wish you hadn\u2019t talked me into takin\u2019 those fresh-broke horses, to give our own mounts a rest.\u00a0 Chubby and Cochise wouldn\u2019t never have took off like that.\u201d<\/p>\n Little Joe knelt down beside his brother.\u00a0 \u201cFirst thing, I\u2019m gonna take a look at your\u2014what is it you think you broke?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMy ankle, I guess,\u201d Hoss said.\u00a0 \u201cAin\u2019t so bad now, though.\u201d\u00a0 He started to get up.\u00a0 \u201cMaybe it ain\u2019t . . .\u201d<\/p>\n Joe waved him down.\u00a0 \u201cSit still \u2018til I check it out.\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss might be the big brother and Joe the little one, but the big man did as he was told.\u00a0 He winced as Joe poked and prodded, but it was only when Joe pointed the foot downward that Hoss slapped his hand away.\u00a0 \u201cThat hurt,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cSorry,\u201d Joe mumbled.\u00a0 He settled back on his haunches.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t think it\u2019s broke, Hoss; bones all feel like they\u2019re in the right place. \u00a0Maybe just sprained.\u00a0 You wanna stand up and see if it\u2019ll take weight?\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss heaved a huge sigh.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t see as I\u2019ve got much choice.\u00a0 We got no horses, and I can\u2019t see you totin\u2019 me out of this miserable place on your back.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cReckon not,\u201d Little Joe said with a wry smile.\u00a0 He was remembering a time when he and Pa and Adam and some neighbors had been carrying a wounded Hoss home, and someone had opined that as long as one of Ben\u2019s boys had to get hurt, he sure wished it could have been the little one.\u00a0 He\u2019d taken a smidge of offense at the remark at the time, but now he, too, wished it had been he, instead of Hoss, that had taken that fall, \u2018cause worse come to worst, Hoss could\u2019ve carried him.\u00a0 He helped his brother to his feet.\u00a0 \u201cLean on me as much as you can,\u201d he instructed.<\/p>\n \u201cOh, you can count on that,\u201d Hoss said.<\/p>\n They soon realized that walking down that gravel-strewn hill was impossible.\u00a0 The second time Hoss took them to ground, he decided they\u2019d both be better off if he just inched his way down on his backside.\u00a0 \u201cWe keep tryin\u2019 it like this, one of us really is likely to break something,\u201d Hoss said.<\/p>\n Little Joe nodded glum acceptance of that assessment, and though he could have made it down much quicker on his own, he stayed with Hoss, trying to clear his path as much as possible.\u00a0 After what seemed like hours, though it wasn\u2019t, they finally reached the floor of the canyon.\u00a0 \u201cSit and rest a spell,\u201d Joe instructed.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll fetch the canteen.\u201d<\/p>\n Once he had it in hand, Hoss drank deeply.\u00a0 \u201cNow what?\u201d he asked as he handed it back to his brother.<\/p>\n Little Joe shrugged.\u00a0 \u201cSame as before, I guess. Head up the canyon, try to find a better campsite.\u201d\u00a0 He looked down at Hoss\u2019s bare foot.\u00a0 \u201cIf you think you can, that is.\u00a0 Otherwise, I guess we make camp here.\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss scowled at the piddling trickle of water.\u00a0 \u201cThis just gets better \u2018n\u2019 better.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAll right!\u201d Little Joe snapped.\u00a0 \u201cI admit it\u2019s my fault we\u2019re out here in the first place, but ain\u2019t no way I could\u2019ve known a rattler would spook our horses.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIs that what it was?\u201d<\/p>\n Little Joe exhaled gustily as he stood up.\u00a0 \u201cI think so.\u00a0 Didn\u2019t see it and not even sure I heard it, but I think I might have, right before the horses started makin\u2019 a ruckus.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWell, it makes sense,\u201d Hoss said.\u00a0 \u201cIf I\u2019m gonna walk, though, I think we better put the boot back on.\u201d<\/p>\n Little Joe looked dubious.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t know, Hoss.\u00a0 Broke or not, it\u2019s probably gonna swell.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI can\u2019t walk on these rocks barefoot, Joe!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOkay, let\u2019s give it a try, then.\u201d<\/p>\n Maneuvering the boot back onto Hoss\u2019s foot was a much harder proposition than getting it off had been and produced enough howling to ensure that anyone within a mile of them would hear.\u00a0 The fact that no one came running to their aid further proved what they already knew: they were alone.\u00a0 Once shod, Hoss lurched to his feet.\u00a0 He would have toppled over had his little brother not caught him, but as soon as he regained his balance, they set off.\u00a0 Progress was slow, and they hadn\u2019t managed to get far before the sun began to sink behind the western ridge.\u00a0 Finally, Hoss admitted he couldn\u2019t go any further, and they sank down beside a stream that was somewhat wider than what lay behind them, but definitely not the fish-laden haven they had hoped for before everything went wrong.<\/p>\n Little Joe eased Hoss down beside a spindly bristlecone pine and set both canteens next to him.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m gonna gather up some wood and make a fire,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cGood luck with that.\u201d\u00a0 Hoss\u2019s face screwed up as he scanned the virtually treeless horizon.<\/p>\n \u201cWell, they don\u2019t call me Lucky for nothin\u2019.\u201d\u00a0 Little Joe\u2019s high-pitched cackle echoed down the canyon.<\/p>\n \u201cThat ain\u2019t what they call you, little brother,\u201d Hoss said.\u00a0 \u201cThey call you Bad-Luck-Comin\u2019.\u201d\u00a0 He was grinning as he said it, though, and that, to Joe, was the best he could have hoped for, under the circumstances.<\/p>\n Joe scouted around for about half an hour and came up with enough wood to make a small fire.\u00a0 Since they had nothing to eat, the horses having run off with their sole catch of the day, they stretched out on either side of its scant warmth.\u00a0 \u201cHoss,\u201d Little Joe said, \u201ccome morning, I\u2019m gonna head out early.\u00a0 There\u2019s a town drawn on that map, and I\u2019m gonna see if I can\u2019t find it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIf\u2019n it exists,\u201d Hoss reminded him.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t much think that mine does.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cProbably not, but the town does,\u201d Little Joe insisted.\u00a0 It had to.\u00a0 A man might make up a gold mine to swindle someone, but surely not a town.\u00a0 No profit in that.<\/p>\n \u201cOkay,\u201d Hoss said.\u00a0 \u201cI reckon it is best for us to leave early, before the heat sets in.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNot us,\u201d Little Joe said firmly.\u00a0 \u201cI can make better time on my own, Hoss, and I can tell your foot\u2019s botherin\u2019 you something fierce. \u00a0You got some shade here and plenty of water.\u00a0 I\u2019ll go on alone and bring back help, maybe even a horse for you to ride.\u00a0 How\u2019s that?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t like you bein\u2019 out there alone, little brother,\u201d Hoss protested, \u201cand we don\u2019t even know where that town might be.\u201d<\/p>\n Little Joe propped himself up on his elbows.\u00a0 \u201cWell, we know there\u2019s nothing back the way we came.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cScarce even a rabbit,\u201d Hoss grunted.\u00a0 Then he quickly said, \u201cSorry. \u00a0Didn\u2019t mean to sound so sour.\u00a0 That\u2019s as good a plan as any, I reckon.\u201d<\/p>\n Little Joe yawned.\u00a0 \u201cThat\u2019s okay.\u00a0 I reckon you\u2019re entitled to get growly as a bear, the way you\u2019re hurtin\u2019.\u00a0 I\u2019m gonna get some shut-eye; dawn comes early.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSleep snug, little brother.\u201d\u00a0 He gave a rough laugh, and it was returned with a chuckling groan.\u00a0 With no bedrolls and a fire not likely to last through the night, neither of them expected to sleep well.\u00a0 For once in his life, Little Joe would have no problem getting up with the sun.<\/p>\n *****<\/p>\n Little Joe was, in fact, up long before the sun rose.\u00a0 Once the fire died out, the bare ground below him and the chilly wind sweeping over him ensured that his night would be a short one.\u00a0 Deciding that he might as well use that cool time of the day for the potentially long walk ahead, he rose as quietly as he could while Hoss snored on.\u00a0 He might be the one in the family with the reputation for sleeping long and deep, but Hoss was the one who could really do it, Joe thought with a grin as he slipped quietly out of camp and headed north.\u00a0 He even waited until he was well away to fill his canteen, so as not to disturb his brother.\u00a0 Better this way, anyway.\u00a0 It didn\u2019t give Hoss a second chance to insist that they stay together when, sure as the world, that would only lead to a long, hungry stay in these unyielding mountains.<\/p>\n The thought brushed through his mind that Adam would be proud of him for coming up with that apt a description for where they were, for the Humboldt range had, so far, yielded neither sustenance nor riches.\u00a0 In fact, it had just barely yielded enough water to keep them alive, although that was changing, for the better, the further he walked.\u00a0 As he had hoped, the creek was broadening into a real stream, although he still saw no sign of fish.\u00a0 Maybe it was too early for them, too, he mused with a wide yawn.<\/p>\n He walked up the canyon for another hour before he stopped to fill his canteen with the cooler water now available.\u00a0 Then with a sigh he began to climb the western ridge, higher here and covered with scant scrub brush, but still treacherous with loose rock.\u00a0 He left the refreshing stream behind with regret, but he knew he had to get to higher ground if he were to spot any sort of town, for the valley to the west was the most likely location for any habitation.\u00a0 His first view of it, however, didn\u2019t show much promise.\u00a0 He kept going north, along the top of the ridge, as best he could.\u00a0 The top wasn\u2019t level ground, and more than once he slipped and slithered down a few feet before he could stop himself.\u00a0 Once it was only a conveniently placed bristlecone that stopped his plunge down the steep side of the mountain.<\/p>\n He walked for hours until the sun stood directly above, bearing down on him.\u00a0 The wind was harsh in his exposed position, but he was grateful for it; it was the only thing that kept him from melting in a pool of sweat.\u00a0 He stopped frequently to drink from his canteen, shaking it after each draught to see whether he needed to climb back down to the stream to refill it.\u00a0 He had just tightened the cap after his last drink when he spotted a wisp of smoke rising over an outcropping, perhaps half a mile ahead, where the mountains jutted briefly westward.\u00a0 Excited by the first sign of hope he\u2019d seen since starting his difficult journey, he immediately headed down the western side of the ridge without a thought of backtracking long enough to fill his canteen.<\/p>\n He realized his mistake almost immediately upon reaching the valley floor, but judged it too costly in time to make the trek back up and then down the ridge to reach the only source of water he knew of.\u00a0 To do that and then make the same journey in reverse would consume hours, and he didn\u2019t want to keep Hoss wondering and worrying about him any longer than necessary.\u00a0 He felt his only choice was to go forward.\u00a0 Surely, there\u2019d be water, wherever that smoke was: smoke meant people, and people needed water to survive.\u00a0 His steps dragged as the glaring sun continued to beat down on him, and the canteen went dry, but he pressed on.\u00a0 He\u2019d bet all his cards on that wisp of smoke, and he couldn\u2019t afford to fold now.\u00a0 His survival and, ultimately, Hoss\u2019s would depend on winning the bet.<\/p>\n Finally, he rounded the outthrust promontory and saw the source of that smoke.\u00a0 It was an isolated cabin, not a town, but to Little Joe, it looked better than the Pearly Gates, which he figured he\u2019d come all too close to seeing for himself.\u00a0 It was still some distance ahead, though, so he pushed on, willing his heavy legs to take one more step and then another. \u00a0By the time he got there, he was exhausted, cooled only by his sweat-drenched shirt, and his tongue was so dry he was afraid to touch it to the top of his mouth, lest it stick there.\u00a0 As he came into the dusty yard, he saw a water trough with a pump at its end, and the sight poured energy into his enervated legs.<\/p>\n He grabbed the pump handle and pumped a fresh stream of water; then he cupped his hands under it and quaffed the barely cool water as if it were iced lemonade.\u00a0 He had just plunged his head beneath the water and was shaking his shaggy mane when a shot exploded next to him.\u00a0 Instinctively, he lifted his wet hands and stared down the barrel of the shotgun pointed at the middle of his chest.\u00a0 When he managed to raise his eyes from that to the face of the person wielding it, they widened in surprise.<\/p>\n \u201cMa\u2019am,\u201d he squeaked.\u00a0 \u201cYou don\u2019t need to do that.\u00a0 I don\u2019t mean you any harm.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd this\u2019ll see to it you don\u2019t do done,\u201d the lady said, not lowering the gun an inch.<\/p>\n \u201cMa\u2019am, please,\u201d he said, putting on his most charming smile, the one that generally turned women to mush.\u00a0 This one had a hard look about the eyes, although the slim blonde would have been pretty enough if it hadn\u2019t been for the livid scar slanting across her right cheek, from near the corner of her eye to her chin.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m just a man in need of help.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019ll find it about ten miles that way.\u201d\u00a0 She jutted her chin to the right.<\/p>\n \u201cTen miles!\u201d\u00a0 The squeak was back in Little Joe\u2019s voice.\u00a0 \u201cMa\u2019am, I can\u2019t walk that far, the state I\u2019m in.\u00a0 Besides that, my brother needs help, back up in the mountains there.\u201d\u00a0 He pointed in the general direction of where he\u2019d left Hoss.\u00a0 \u201cNight\u2019s comin\u2019, and it would take too long for me to get help from that far.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s as may be, but I\u2019m a woman alone, and I\u2019m not about to let some drifter take advantage of me,\u201d she declared, \u201cso don\u2019t be thinkin\u2019 you can.\u201d<\/p>\n Little Joe exhaled with disgust.\u00a0 \u201cTrust me, ma\u2019am, that\u2019s the last thing on my mind.\u201d\u00a0 He hadn\u2019t meant it as an insult to her looks, although he could tell from the flush of her cheeks and the tightening of her lips that she taken it that way.<\/p>\n \u201cTown\u2019s ten miles that way, like I said, and you\u2019d best get walkin\u2019 if you plan to make it before dark.\u201d<\/p>\n Little Joe stared her down, but saw no sign of yielding, so he sighed deeply and asked, \u201cCan I, at least, fill my canteen?\u00a0 It\u2019s empty, and if you don\u2019t want a death on your hands . . .\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh, all right,\u201d she relented, lowering the gun slightly.\u00a0 \u201cFill it and be on your way.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes, ma\u2019am,\u201d Little Joe said.\u00a0 As he filled the canteen, he kept a close watch on her out of the corner of his eye and saw the gun drop another inch or so.\u00a0 She was a little thing, and evidently, it was getting heavy.\u00a0 He took his time capping the canteen.\u00a0 Then grabbing it by the strap, he flung it straight at her head and rushed her.<\/p>\n With a sharp cry, she instinctively lifted her arm to shield her face, and Little Joe crossed the short distance between them and twisted the shotgun out of her hands while it was pointed skyward.\u00a0 She turned to run, but he caught her by the upper arm and held her as she kicked and pulled and twisted in a futile attempt to get away.<\/p>\n \u201cYeow!\u00a0 Cut that out!\u201d Little Joe yelled as her booted foot connected with his shin.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t want to hurt you, ma\u2019am, but I\u2019m not about to let you hurt me, either.\u201d<\/p>\n In stature, he wasn\u2019t much taller than she, but his muscles were work-hardened, and while hers were, too, they were no match for even a slim, young man used to wrangling recalcitrant steers.\u00a0 Finally, she fell to the ground and sat there, glaring up at him.\u00a0 \u201cAll right,\u201d she snarled.\u00a0 \u201cGo ahead and have your way with me; I can\u2019t stop you.\u201d<\/p>\n Little Joe shook his head firmly from side to side.\u00a0 \u201cMa\u2019am, like I already said, I don\u2019t want that.\u00a0 All I want is some food and water . . . and a horse, if you got one.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cJust like a man to take a woman\u2019s horse and leave her stranded out in this desert!\u201d\u00a0 She spewed the bitter words.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ll bring it back,\u201d he said.\u00a0 \u201cI ain\u2019t no horse thief, ma\u2019am, just a . . .\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMan in need of help,\u201d she sputtered.\u00a0 \u201cDon\u2019t waste your breath; I heard you the first six times.\u201d<\/p>\n Little Joe was pretty sure he hadn\u2019t said it that many times, but he didn\u2019t consider the point worth arguing.\u00a0 \u201cJust get up and get the horse,\u201d he ordered.\u00a0 \u201cAnd don\u2019t try anything.\u201d\u00a0 He pointed the gun at her, hoping the threat would prove sufficient; he would almost rather have died himself than shoot a woman.<\/p>\n She got up warily and brushed the dust from her brown calico skirt.\u00a0 Then, flinging her long blonde braid over her shoulder, she marched toward a lean-to attached to the cabin.\u00a0 Little Joe followed her, shotgun in hand.\u00a0 When he rounded the corner of the cabin, he gaped, open-mouthed.\u00a0 \u201cYou talk about bein\u2019 stranded, when you got two horses and all I asked for was one?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhy would a horse thief stop with just one?\u201d she demanded hotly.<\/p>\n \u201cI told you: I ain\u2019t a horse thief!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re takin\u2019 my horse at gunpoint,\u201d she tossed back, hands on her hips.\u00a0 \u201cIf that don\u2019t make you a horse thief, I don\u2019t know what does.\u201d<\/p>\n Little Joe twisted his neck, trying to work out the tension in his muscles.\u00a0 \u201cI know I\u2019m right,\u201d he said, \u201ceven though you make it sound wrong.\u201d\u00a0 He looked up, as a thought struck him.\u00a0 \u201cYou got a wagon to go with this team?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh, you want that, too, do you?\u201d\u00a0 Pure hatred shot from her blue eyes.\u00a0 Though they were close to the same shade as Hoss\u2019s, there was none of the calm peace that his generally conveyed.<\/p>\n \u201cWell, as long as I\u2019m bein\u2019 labeled a horse thief,\u201d Little Joe chuckled grimly, \u201cI guess I might as well get hung for a wagon nabber, too.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd I suppose you want me to hitch it for you?\u201d she fumed.<\/p>\n The chuckle sounded lighter this time.\u00a0 \u201cWell, ma\u2019am, I can\u2019t hardly take this gun off you, now, can I?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOoff!\u201d\u00a0 She grabbed the harness off the wall of the shed and put it over the head of each horse and then led them out of the lean-to and around the back of the cabin, where a rough-slabbed wagon stood.\u00a0 She harnessed the team with the deftness of one long accustomed to doing it.\u00a0 \u201cGo on, then,\u201d she said.\u00a0 \u201cGet off my land.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cFood and water,\u201d he reminded her with a cocky smile.\u00a0 Now that the gun was out of her hands and into his, he found her feistiness kind of amusing, even admirable, in fact.<\/p>\n Her gusty exhale blew straggling strands of wispy hair from her face as she led the team toward the front door of the cabin.\u00a0 She stomped inside with Little Joe close on her heels.\u00a0 He couldn\u2019t take the chance that she might have another gun hidden inside; at the very least, she probably had a butcher knife she\u2019d be all too willing to carve him up with.\u00a0 At his direction she filled a flour sack with the half loaf of bread sitting on the table, as well as the remains of some sort of roasted fowl and a few biscuits left over from breakfast, or so he assumed.\u00a0 It took only minutes to bag up what he knew hungry Hoss would consider a feast.\u00a0 The sight of the food made his own stomach clench with anticipation, but he figured to wait until he was safely away before satisfying it.<\/p>\n As soon as she\u2019d placed the sack of victuals in the back of the wagon, he climbed up into the seat and, placing the shotgun beneath it, he gathered up the reins.\u00a0 Holding them with one hand, he tipped his hat.\u00a0 \u201cThank you for the help, ma\u2019am,\u201d he said, managing to keep all but a trace of irony out of his voice.<\/p>\n Her next move caught him completely by surprise.\u00a0 Hoisting her skirt, she stepped onto the wagon\u2019s front wheel and vaulted into the seat beside him.<\/p>\n \u201cMa\u2019am?\u201d he asked, his voice rising in a nervous squeak.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s my wagon,\u201d she growled, \u201cand I\u2019m not lettin\u2019 it out of my sight.\u201d<\/p>\n Little Joe rolled his eyes.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll bring it back, I promise.\u00a0 How many times I got to tell you I\u2019m not a horse thief?\u00a0 And that includes the wagon.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHuh!\u201d she snorted.\u00a0 \u201cI reckon you\u2019re not a bread thief nor a biscuit thief nor a mud hen thief, neither.\u00a0 Don\u2019t even bother denying those!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI give up,\u201d Little Joe said.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m a calloused criminal.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhich is exactly why I\u2019m goin\u2019 along, so\u2019s you\u2019ll have no excuse to just drive off with your so-called brother and accidently-on-purpose forget to bring back my property.\u201d\u00a0 She finished her declaration with a determined and climactic single nod.<\/p>\n \u201cFine!\u201d he snapped as he handed her the reins.\u00a0 \u201cThat bein\u2019 the case, I reckon you\u2019d better drive.\u201d\u00a0 He wasn\u2019t about to undertake this journey with his hands occupied with the reins and hers free to snatch up the shotgun.\u00a0 He moved it to his far side and reached back for the sack of provisions as she started up the team.<\/p>\n \u201cThought that was for your brother,\u201d she taunted.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s one biscuit!\u201d he protested.\u00a0 \u201cBelieve me, he would spare me that much!\u00a0 In fact, he\u2019d gladly give me the whole bag of victuals, no questions asked.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMakes him sound almost decent,\u201d she said.\u00a0 \u201cMust not be much like you.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDifferent as night and day,\u201d he said in a mocking tone that almost no one would have taken seriously, but she accepted without the blink of an eye.<\/p>\n She drove south, the direction from which he\u2019d originally come, until he told her to stop.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t see no brother,\u201d she scoffed as she pulled up the team.<\/p>\n He pointed his chin up the ridge to their left.\u00a0 \u201cOn foot from here, and don\u2019t even think I\u2019ll leave you behind with the team.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cUp there?\u201d\u00a0 She shook her head.\u00a0 \u201cHow you expect to get a hurt man down that?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know!\u201d he snapped.\u00a0 \u201cBut that\u2019s where he is, so I got to do it somehow, don\u2019t I?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s straight over that way?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\n \u201cNear as I can figure.\u00a0 Why?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s a better way,\u201d she said, starting the team up again.<\/p>\n \u201cThis better not be a trick,\u201d he grunted.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re the trickster, not me,\u201d she snorted and kept driving south until she came to a trail that led up into the mountains.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019ll be rough,\u201d she said, \u201cso hold onto your seat.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHow far\u2019s it go?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n \u201cNot as far as you\u2019d want,\u201d she said, \u201cbut it should make it easier on your so-called brother.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s no so-called to it,\u201d he insisted.\u00a0 \u201cHe\u2019s real enough.\u201d<\/p>\n For the first time she looked at him with something less than total contempt.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m beginnin\u2019 to believe he is.\u201d\u00a0 After all, if this man had really just been out to rob her, he\u2019d never have gone along with this turn into a road that led nowhere in particular.<\/p>\n They rode along in reasonably tolerant companionship for, perhaps, a mile and a half before she began to circle the horses back the way they\u2019d come.<\/p>\n \u201cWait, wait, wait,\u201d Little Joe protested.\u00a0 \u201cWhat sort of shenanigan is this, missy?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s the last place we can turn the team around,\u201d she said.\u00a0 \u201cYour brother will have to walk to here.\u201d\u00a0 Her forehead wrinkled in sudden wondering.\u00a0 \u201cCan he walk?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\n Little Joe\u2019s face crinkled with concern.\u00a0 \u201cThat\u2019s sort of the problem,\u201d he admitted.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s his foot he hurt.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cLucky for you\u2014more to the point, him\u2014that I brought you this way, then.\u00a0 It\u2019s an easier slope than where you stopped before.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cGood.\u201d\u00a0 Little Joe eyed her warily.\u00a0 \u201cYou get down first, ma\u2019am, \u2018cause cooperative as you\u2019re soundin\u2019 at the moment, I\u2019m not about to leave you behind with the wagon while I fetch Hoss.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHoss!\u201d\u00a0 She responded with a rough laugh.\u00a0 \u201cWhat kind of name is that for a man?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201c\u2018What\u2019s in a name?\u00a0 A rose by any other name would smell as sweet,\u2019\u201d he quoted with a sarcastic smile.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat kind of drivel is that?\u201d she demanded.\u00a0 \u201cI was askin\u2019 about your brother, not some posy.\u201d<\/p>\n Little Joe had to grin.\u00a0 Any woman with sense enough to call something from Shakespeare drivel couldn\u2019t be all bad.\u00a0 \u201cGet on down,\u201d he said.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m right behind you.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cReckon I could count on that,\u201d she snorted and promptly left the wagon.\u00a0 When she saw him start to pick up the shotgun, she said, \u201cOh leave it behind.\u00a0 You\u2019ll need both hands to help your brother, won\u2019t you?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, but . . .\u201d<\/p>\n She shook her head at the stupidity of men.\u00a0 \u201cTruce for now, all right?\u00a0 Ain\u2019t sayin\u2019 what I\u2019ll do once we get your brother down, but I won\u2019t try nothin\u2019 \u2018til he\u2019s safe.\u00a0 Fair enough?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cLong as you mean it,\u201d he said cautiously.<\/p>\n \u201cTrustin\u2019 sort, ain\u2019t you?\u201d she grunted, as she headed up the narrowing path ahead, leaving him to follow or not, as he chose.<\/p>\n Heading up the hill, Little Joe instantly recognized the benefits of this route over the one he had chosen.\u00a0 Though the path narrowed until there was barely room for two, walking side by side, its rise was more gradual than at the place he\u2019d climbed before, and it was beaten earth, not loose gravel.\u00a0 The climb up from the canyon would still be rough for a man with a lame foot, but the descent to the wagon should be easier.\u00a0 When they reached the top of the ridge and began making their way into the canyon, he judged, chiefly by the width of the waterway, that they were to the south of where he\u2019d left Hoss, but no more than half to three quarters of a mile.\u00a0 \u201cThink we can get there and back to the cabin by nightfall?\u201d he asked the young woman, bowing to her greater familiarity with these mountains.<\/p>\n \u201cNo,\u201d she said plainly after asking where he\u2019d left his brother, \u201cbut if we can get him to the wagon before it\u2019s full dark, I can get us back to my place easy enough.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHow\u2019d a lady like yourself get so acquainted with this area, if you don\u2019t mind me askin\u2019?\u201d<\/p>\n She looked askance at him and then shrugged, saying laconically, \u201cHunting.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou don\u2019t have a man to do that for you?\u201d Little Joe asked.<\/p>\n \u201cNot since my husband passed,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cOh.\u00a0 Sorry for your loss, ma\u2019am.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not.\u201d<\/p>\n Little Joe looked away so she wouldn\u2019t see his lips form a silent whistle.\u00a0 Just when he\u2019d thought she might be softening up a little, she turned prickly as any cactus in this dry land.\u00a0 He couldn\u2019t help wondering why she felt no sorrow for her husband\u2019s death, but figured it might be worth his life to press the issue.<\/p>\n *****<\/p>\n Hoss Cartwright couldn\u2019t believe his eyes when he saw the vision coming down the ridge.\u00a0 The descending sun surrounded the two dark figures moving toward him with a bronze aura.\u00a0 One, of course, was his little brother.\u00a0 He\u2019d have known that silhouette anywhere, but he couldn\u2019t take his eyes off the figure walking slightly ahead of Little Joe.\u00a0 While he couldn\u2019t yet make out any features, he knew it was a woman by the shape of her skirt, and the rich hues of the setting sun cast a golden glow over her that made it appear, to him, like a halo.\u00a0 Even the beat-up, mannish hat he could see as they drew closer didn\u2019t change his first impression that God had sent an angel down to earth. \u00a0Since a gentleman always stood when a lady entered a room, he instinctively lurched to his feet, wincing and almost crumpling as he put weight on his injured foot.<\/p>\n The woman\u2019s first reaction to Hoss was fear.\u00a0 The man was a giant!\u00a0 Her next response was pure anger and disgust.\u00a0 Brother, indeed!\u00a0 That imposing hulk of a man had nothing in common with the lying runt walking behind her.\u00a0 That scrawny specimen was barely bigger than she was.\u00a0 Then she saw the big man almost go down when he tried to stand, and her emotions did another spin.\u00a0 He was hurt.\u00a0 That much wasn\u2019t a lie, and her heart went out, as it did to any injured critter.\u00a0 She felt pity and even a smidgen of shame that she\u2019d been so reluctant to give aid when it was asked, although her irritation with Little Joe continued to blunt the prick of her conscience.<\/p>\n Hoss doffed his hat as they reached the level land of the canyon and moved toward him.\u00a0 \u201cMa\u2019am,\u201d he said, \u201cyou are a sight for sore eyes.\u00a0 You, too, little brother.\u201d<\/p>\n She halted when she heard what he called the other man.\u00a0 Brother, he\u2019d said.\u00a0 Unless the two of them had made up the story beforehand, it had to be true, but as she glanced back and forth between the two, she shook her head.\u00a0 It still made no sense.<\/p>\n Discerning what was going through her head, Hoss grinned.\u00a0 \u201cSame pa, different mothers,\u201d he explained.\u00a0 \u201cMuch as I hate to admit it at times, he is my little brother, ma\u2019am.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI suppose you thought I lied.\u201d\u00a0 Little Joe grunted.<\/p>\n \u201cWouldn\u2019t put it past you,\u201d she said, giving him a hard look.<\/p>\n Hoss\u2019s eyes narrowed.\u00a0 \u201cMa\u2019am,\u201d he asked, \u201cis this one of those times I ought not to be admittin\u2019 that me and him are kin?\u00a0 If he\u2019s been anything less than a gentleman, you just tell me, and I\u2019ll give him a good pounding.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDepends on whether snatchin\u2019 a lady\u2019s shotgun and takin\u2019 her team and wagon at gunpoint is your idea of gentlemanly, I reckon,\u201d she said dryly.<\/p>\n Hoss turned a tight-lipped glare on his little brother.\u00a0 \u201cJoseph, you\u2019re a shame to the name of Cartwright.\u00a0 You ain\u2019t been reared to act like that.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHuh!\u201d Little Joe snorted.\u00a0 \u201cThe lady forgot to mention that she was holdin\u2019 that shotgun on me when I took it away!\u00a0 I didn\u2019t fancy havin\u2019 it go off and leave you without a brother, but, maybe, that don\u2019t matter to you.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI got a right to protect myself when a strange man comes on my property,\u201d she spat.<\/p>\n \u201cYes, ma\u2019am, you do,\u201d Hoss said calmly.\u00a0 \u201cA pretty little gal like you can\u2019t be too careful of strangers, but I can assure you that, ornery as he is, my little brother wouldn\u2019t\u2019ve done nothin\u2019 but steal your heart.\u00a0 I\u2019m afeared he\u2019s well known for that.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWasn\u2019t interested in my heart; just my horse, wagon and a bag of victuals,\u201d she snorted.<\/p>\n Hoss shook his head at Little Joe.\u00a0 \u201cJoseph, Joseph,\u201d he scolded, \u201cI\u2019m sure if you\u2019d just asked . . .\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI did,\u201d Little Joe ground out between clenched teeth.<\/p>\n \u201cNot nice enough, obviously,\u201d Hoss said.\u00a0 He turned back to the lady with a bashful smile.\u00a0 \u201cI apologize, ma\u2019am, for how it came about, but I sure am glad to meet you.\u00a0 I don\u2019t reckon this rascal thought to give you my name, but I\u2019m . . .\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHoss, he called you,\u201d she said.\u00a0 \u201cThought he was joshin\u2019, but I reckon it suits you.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes\u2019m.\u00a0 And what might be your name, since Little Joe didn\u2019t bother to make a proper introduction?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHe never asked,\u201d she said with a proud toss of her head.<\/p>\n Little Joe rolled his eyes.\u00a0 Did no one stop to consider how having a shotgun pointed at you might drive all thought of proper introductions from a man\u2019s head?<\/p>\n The lady took a deep, appraising look at Hoss and made a bold leap of faith.\u00a0 \u201cMy name\u2019s Daniel,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Hoss doffed his hat again.\u00a0 \u201cPleased to meet you, Miz Daniel.\u201d<\/p>\n She shook her head.\u00a0 \u201cNo, my married name\u2019s Bartlett, but I don\u2019t use that since he passed.\u00a0 Daniel is what my pa named me.\u00a0 Wanted a boy, so he gave me a boy\u2019s name out of spite when Mama disappointed him. \u00a0Reckon you think that\u2019s odd.\u201d<\/p>\n Little Joe did, but he had sense enough to let Hoss handle that hot potato.<\/p>\n \u201cNo odder than Hoss,\u201d he said with his crooked smile, \u201cthough that\u2019s just a nickname.\u00a0 My ma named me Eric.\u201d<\/p>\n Her expression turned wistful.\u00a0 \u201cMama called me Dani and gave me the middle name of Lynne, to soften it some, make it more girlish,\u201d she said, \u201cthough she didn\u2019t dare write it down in the family Bible.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s real pretty,\u201d Hoss said, \u201cand since we\u2019re old friends now, maybe it\u2019d be okay if we went by nicknames, huh?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI reckon it would,\u201d she agreed.\u00a0 \u201cNow, do you think you can make it up that hill, if we support you on either side?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMiss Dani, I reckon I\u2019m gonna have to,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n She came to his injured side and placed his arm over her shoulder.\u00a0 \u201cWell, come on,\u201d she said roughly to Little Joe.\u00a0 \u201cSun\u2019s headed down, in case you hadn\u2019t noticed.\u201d<\/p>\n Little Joe\u2019s mouth skewed as if he\u2019d tasted sour lemon, but he moved to his brother\u2019s other side.<\/p>\n They began to walk, Hoss wincing with almost every step, but with their help remaining upright, at least on the canyon floor.\u00a0 Climbing was harder, of course, but he watched his steps carefully and only took the three of them down once before they reached the summit.\u00a0 From there, it was easier, as Dani had predicted, and they reached the wagon while a semi-circle of sun still hovered briefly on the western horizon.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s bread and fried mud hen in that bag,\u201d Dani said, again taking the reins.\u00a0 \u201cHelp yourself.\u201d\u00a0 She looked over at Little Joe.\u00a0 \u201cI guess you might as well have a some, too.\u00a0 That one biscuit you burgled can\u2019t have filled even your scrawny belly.\u201d<\/p>\n Little Joe reached into the bag Hoss held up to him, happy to take whatever he came up with.<\/p>\n *****<\/p>\n It was full dark by the time they made it back to Dani\u2019s cabin.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll unhitch and see to the team,\u201d Little Joe offered, \u201cif you think you can trust me with \u2018em.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ll chance it,\u201d Dani said with an expression he couldn\u2019t read as either serious or joshing.\u00a0 \u201cHelp me get your brother inside first.\u201d<\/p>\n Little Joe looked surprised, although not as much as if the invitation had included him.\u00a0 She obviously felt sympathy for the injured man, but he didn\u2019t figure the kindly feeling would extend to the man who\u2019d borrowed her property at gunpoint.\u00a0 After helping Hoss down from the wagon and into a chair in the house, he tended to the team and plumped up the straw in one corner of the lean-to as a bed for himself.\u00a0 The air was chilly, and he didn\u2019t even have a jacket, since that, too, had galloped off with his horse.<\/p>\n Finally, he worked up the courage to knock on the cabin door, in hopes of sweet-talking the lady out of a blanket.\u00a0 When the door opened, he started to make his request, hat in hand, but she just shook her head.\u00a0 \u201cSlow as you are, you\u2019d best not ever look for work at a livery.\u201d\u00a0 Stepping aside, she stared at him.\u00a0 \u201cWell, get on in; I don\u2019t aim to stand here all night with the door hangin\u2019 open.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh, yes\u2019m,\u201d he said and quickly edged past her into the room.\u00a0 No sense giving her a chance to change her mind.\u00a0 He saw his brother Hoss seated at the plank table, sipping a cup of hot coffee.\u00a0 \u201cAny chance I could have some of that?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n \u201cSlim one,\u201d she said, though her mouth quirked up when she turned away to reach for the pot.\u00a0 She plunked the tin cup down on the table and motioned with her head for him to sit down.\u00a0 \u201cYour lucky day, I reckon.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThank you, Miss Dani,\u201d he said sweetly, and this time she was the one unsure of whether she was being thanked, teased or outright mocked.<\/p>\n Though she still had her doubts about Little Joe, she\u2019d taken Hoss Cartwright\u2019s measure and decided he could be trusted.\u00a0 \u201cS\u2019pect you\u2019d best take the bed,\u201d she said, \u201cyou bein\u2019 ailin\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAw, ma\u2019am, I ain\u2019t ailin\u2019,\u201d Hoss protested, \u201cjust hurtin\u2019 a mite.\u00a0 I can sleep wherever.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cTake the bed,\u201d she insisted.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ve slept on a pallet many a time, and I\u2019ve got plenty of blankets to make a thick one.\u201d<\/p>\n Little Joe cleared his throat as he stood.\u00a0 \u201cUh, you think, maybe, I could borrow one of those blankets?\u00a0 I\u2019ve got a bed made up in the lean-to, but nights do get chilly hereabouts.\u201d<\/p>\n She studied him for a moment and then turned to Hoss. She\u2019d taken a trusting shine to him right off, which, given her history, was some sort of miracle, but she still lumped the one who\u2019d held a gun on her with all the men of her past experience.\u00a0 \u201cCan I trust him to keep his hands to himself, if\u2019n I let him stay inside?\u201d she asked Hoss.<\/p>\n \u201cMa\u2019am!\u201d Little Joe protested, looking insulted.<\/p>\n Hoss just grinned.\u00a0 \u201cI reckon you can,\u201d he said, \u201cand I will be here to keep him in line, after all.\u201d<\/p>\n She grinned back.\u00a0 \u201cOnly reason I suggested it.\u201d\u00a0 She was no more than half-joking.<\/p>\n Little Joe stifled a groan.\u00a0 He was pretty sure they were both teasing, but he wasn\u2019t sure enough to sass them back.\u00a0 A pallet indoors beat out a straw bed in an open lean-to, any night of the year.<\/p>\n \u201cThe bed\u2019s big enough for two,\u201d Dani said, \u201cand it does get cold at night.\u00a0 Just so\u2019s the two of you stay on your side of the room . . . and just so you\u2019ll know, I\u2019m sleepin\u2019 with the shotgun.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWon\u2019t be necessary, ma\u2019am,\u201d Hoss assured her, \u201cbut if\u2019n it makes you more comfortable, you go right ahead.\u201d<\/p>\n Little Joe snickered, earning himself a hard look from his brother.\u00a0 He couldn\u2019t help it, though.\u00a0 He\u2019d slept with Hoss before, and it was no picnic (each brother said the other was a bed hog) but taking a shotgun to bed sounded about as comfortable as sharing that picnic with a mound of ants.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat\u2019re you laughing at, hyena?\u201d Dani demanded.<\/p>\n \u201cAnts,\u201d Little Joe cackled, and both of the other occupants of the cabin stared at him like he belonged in an asylum somewhere far, far away.<\/p>\n *****<\/p>\n The cabin lay dark and still, but for an occasional adjustment of position on the bed or pallet.\u00a0 Hoss Cartwright was lying awake, not even trying to sleep.\u00a0 \u201cJoe,\u201d he finally whispered.\u00a0 \u201cYou awake?\u201d\u00a0 He\u2019d slept with his little brother before and was pretty sure, from the stillness of the body next to him, that Joe wasn\u2019t sleeping, either, though probably from a different reason.<\/p>\n \u201cTryin\u2019 not to be,\u201d Little Joe mumbled, but he dutifully turned over to face his brother.\u00a0 Hoss was always good to listen to him when he wanted to talk, and he could feel a spell of chattiness coming over the big fellow.<\/p>\n \u201cShe\u2019s a pretty little thing, ain\u2019t she?\u201d Hoss whispered.<\/p>\n \u201cWho?\u201d Little Joe asked, feigning ignorance.<\/p>\n Hoss\u2019s voice rose in aggravation.\u00a0 \u201cMiss Dani, of course!\u00a0 There ain\u2019t no other she here.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cShh,\u201d Little Joe warned.\u00a0 \u201cOh, her.\u00a0 She\u2019s all right, I guess.\u00a0 Kind of hard for me to judge when she\u2019s holdin\u2019 a gun on me half the time.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh, she don\u2019t do no such thing,\u201d Hoss hissed, \u201cand you can\u2019t hardly blame a lone woman for protectin\u2019 herself.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cGuess not.\u201d\u00a0 Little Joe yawned.\u00a0 \u201cThat what\u2019s keepin\u2019 you up, thinkin\u2019 about her looks?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat and everything else about her,\u201d Hoss said.\u00a0 \u201cI sure wish we could stick around long enough for me to get to know her better.\u201d<\/p>\n Little Joe chuckled softly.\u00a0 \u201cWell, you got a built-in excuse,\u201d he said, \u201cand if it\u2019s love-makin\u2019 you\u2019re plannin\u2019, I\u2019ll be more\u2019n happy to clear out.\u201d\u00a0 He felt, rather than saw, his big brother blushing.<\/p>\n \u201cReckon I could use some time to rest up,\u201d Hoss said, \u201cif\u2019n she wouldn\u2019t mind me stayin\u2019 on a spell.\u201d\u00a0 He grinned as he contemplated sending his little brother back home alone to try to explain things to Pa.\u00a0 He wished he could be there to see a show like that, but a man couldn\u2019t have everything, and right now, he\u2019d rather have Dani.\u00a0 He wasn\u2019t sure how she\u2019d feel about it, though; after all, he was still pretty much a stranger.<\/p>\n Dani lay on her pallet, listening, with a quizzical wrinkle of her forehead.\u00a0 She\u2019d taken him for an honest man; yet he\u2019d called her pretty.\u00a0 She knew better, of course.\u00a0 Her pa\u2019d told her often enough that she was plain, though her sweet mama had said different.\u00a0 She knew which one to believe, though, \u2018cause Mama\u2019d always looked at her with eyes of love, and love blinds; she\u2019d heard that\u2014or, maybe, read it\u2014somewhere.\u00a0 Her husband, too, had never said anything about her looks, but with him, it was more a case of not caring, one way or the other.\u00a0 He treated her same as any other work animal about the place, and looks didn\u2019t matter in a beast of burden.\u00a0 Her job was to fetch and carry, plow and seed, cook and clean for as long as the sun gave light, and when it quit, her job was to service him, and in the dark looks didn\u2019t show.\u00a0 She instinctively touched the scar on her cheek.<\/p>\n Even if she\u2019d looked passable before, one punishing blow had changed that forever.\u00a0 His little brother had noticed; she\u2019d seen it in his eyes.\u00a0 Not hate or revulsion, like some men had shown; just pity, but that didn\u2019t make her feel any less a spectacle.\u00a0 Hoss, now, he hadn\u2019t even seemed to notice, and now he was talking about wanting to know her better.\u00a0 Was it just talk or, worse, was he making sport of her, setting her up for a harder fall than the one that had put the mark on her face in the first place.\u00a0 It was a risk, of course, but she wanted to know him better, too, so she was all for havin\u2019 that gun-snatchin\u2019 rascal clear out, like he\u2019d said, and give her the chance.<\/p>\n Morning came, and as was her habit from the time she was twelve, she rose to prepare breakfast.\u00a0 She was only sorry she had so little to offer.\u00a0 She\u2019d stretched her supplies over the last several months, but unless one of these Cartwrights boys was kin to the Prophet Elijah, her flour barrel was bound to run dry before she\u2019d made many more biscuits.\u00a0 She could hunt and fish pretty well\u2014having a father who wanted a boy had seen to that\u2014but storekeepers tended to prefer hard cash for staple goods, and she had no more than a few dollars left.<\/p>\n She fried the last of the fat back, all four slices of it, and used the grease in place of lard for a handful of biscuits.\u00a0 There was still some of the yeast bread left from her last baking, but she decided to save that for lunch.\u00a0 She\u2019d open up a jar of jelly, left from better times, and that would have to do until she could get some hunting done.\u00a0 The lack of hospitality shamed her, but after all, she hadn\u2019t asked to have two men land on her doorstep, one of them a big eater, by the looks of him.\u00a0 How she wished she could give him a taste of her considerable talent with a bake oven! \u00a0For some reason, she wanted him to see her in a better light, but all she could offer was her pitiful leavings.<\/p>\n Little Joe was exhausted from his exertions of the day before, but Hoss was still more hungry than tired, and once his nose caught a good whiff of baking biscuits, he just naturally woke with a smile on his face.\u00a0 Scooting up in bed, he called \u201cMornin\u2019, Miss Dani.\u00a0 That sure smells mighty good.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt ain\u2019t much,\u201d she said.\u00a0 \u201cJust fatback and biscuits.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSmells like a feast to me,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n She smiled demurely.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019re just hungry.\u00a0 Man your size needs more, I know, but I\u2019m low on supplies.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMan my size could eat you out of house and home,\u201d he chuckled, \u201cbut fatback and biscuits\u2019ll do just fine.\u00a0 Don\u2019t know how I\u2019m gonna get to it, though, with this rascal between me and the table.\u201d\u00a0 He gave his brother\u2019s unruly curls an affectionate tousle.<\/p>\n \u201cShove him out,\u201d Dani suggested, a touch of vinegar in her voice.\u00a0 While she\u2019d basically forgiven Little Joe for his actions of the day before, she hadn\u2019t totally let go of her grudging toward him.\u00a0 But for his big brother\u2019s sake, she probably wouldn\u2019t even have given him a biscuit.<\/p>\n \u201cMight come to that,\u201d Hoss admitted.\u00a0 \u201cHe sleeps sound.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYour foot painin\u2019 you?\u201d<\/p>\n He shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cOnly if I move it a certain way.\u201d\u00a0 His nose wrinkled sheepishly.\u00a0 \u201cTrouble is, it\u2019s the way you need for walkin\u2019.\u00a0 Hate to trouble you, ma\u2019am, but I ain\u2019t sure I, at least, can get out of your hair soon as you might want.\u201d<\/p>\n She turned away to hide her smile.\u00a0 Having heard his nighttime whispers with his brother, she knew exactly how eager he was to get away . . . or her to let him.\u00a0 \u201cYou can stay long as you need,\u201d she said, \u201cbut like I said, supplies is low; I ain\u2019t got much to share right now.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWell, maybe we could send the rascal for supplies,\u201d Hoss suggested, his whole countenance perking up at the thought of getting Little Joe out of the cabin for a few hours.<\/p>\n Flushing, but reluctant to admit she had little with which to purchase supplies, she muttered, \u201cMaybe,\u201d and turned to check the biscuits.\u00a0 Seeing that they were done, she took them from the oven and put half on a plate, along with two slices of bacon.\u00a0 One apiece would do for her and the skinny fellow, she figured.\u00a0 She handed the plate to Hoss.\u00a0 \u201cSince you don\u2019t seem of a mind to shove the rascal out,\u201d she said with enough of a smile to tell him she was teasing.<\/p>\n He thanked her and sank his teeth in, his mmm-mmm\u2019s as he ate loud enough to finally rouse the sleeping man beside him.<\/p>\n Little Joe sat up.\u00a0 \u201cBreakfast in bed?\u201d\u00a0 His voice sounded both amazed and filled with anticipation.<\/p>\n \u201cNot for you,\u201d Dani said, squelching any notion that he deserved the same service.\u00a0 \u201cGet up and get to the table.\u201d<\/p>\n Figuring beggars ought not be choosers, Little Joe got up and got to the table, faster than he ever made it down to breakfast at the Ponderosa.\u00a0 \u201cThis all there is?\u201d he squeaked when she offered him two biscuits and a single piece of bacon.<\/p>\n \u201cJoseph!\u201d Hoss said sharply.\u00a0 \u201cMind your manners.\u201d<\/p>\n It was enough of a reminder that Joe pinched back the retort on his lips.\u00a0 Pa\u2019d always taught him to remember that not everyone had as much as the Cartwrights and to accept what he was offered with thanks.\u00a0 It was only the difference between the way the woman was treating him and the way she treated his brother that made him feel testy about the meager breakfast.\u00a0 He\u2019d gotten off on the wrong foot with Miss Dani, no bones about it, and he had a feeling no amount of the famous Joe Cartwright charm was going to get him set back on the right one.\u00a0 Still, manners were manners.\u00a0 \u201cSorry, ma\u2019am,\u201d he said.\u00a0 \u201cI was forgetting myself.\u00a0 Thanks for fixing breakfast.\u201d<\/p>\n The meek reply appeased her some.\u00a0 \u201cSorry it can\u2019t be more,\u201d she said.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m low on supplies.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI was thinkin\u2019 you might go into town and fetch some, little brother,\u201d Hoss suggested, and since Dani was facing away from him, he signaled his underlying intentions with a pronounced wink.<\/p>\n \u201cWell, sure,\u201d Little Joe said, foregoing the urge to wink back, \u201cif Miss Dani will trust me to take the wagon into town.\u00a0 I need to fetch the doctor out to see you, anyway, and rent a horse . . . or two . . . from the livery.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s no doctor,\u201d Dani said.\u00a0 \u201cAin\u2019t but eleven cabins to the whole town.\u201d \u00a0She knew she should have mentioned the fact that there was no livery, either, but she really wanted to get him out of the cabin for a while, and the excuse of needing supplies wouldn\u2019t work, since she didn\u2019t have enough cash on hand to buy much.\u00a0 She\u2019d hoped to trap some furs or, maybe, find that stupid gold mine her husband had searched for endlessly, after some passing drifter sold him a map, but so far neither of those last-chance hopes had panned out.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t need a doctor, no how,\u201d Hoss said.\u00a0 \u201cAll I need\u2019s a little time off my feet.\u201d<\/p>\n Little Joe wiped his mouth with the frayed gingham napkin and set it aside as he stood.\u00a0 \u201cReckon I\u2019ll head on into town now.\u00a0 Can I fetch you back anything, ma\u2019am?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ll check while you hitch the team,\u201d she said, though she knew, almost to the ounce what was left in her larder.<\/p>\n He left quickly, before she could change her mind.<\/p>\n Sighing, she raised sorrowful eyes to Hoss\u2019s face.\u00a0 \u201cDon\u2019t know how to tell him . . . or you, neither.\u00a0 You\u2019re more\u2019n welcome to stay on, but I can\u2019t offer you much.\u00a0 Only thing lower than my supplies is what\u2019s in my cashbox.\u201d<\/p>\n Having already guessed as much, Hoss nodded.\u00a0 \u201cI wish I had more to offer you, but we kind of planned to eat off the land, so I didn\u2019t bring much cash with me.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI wasn\u2019t hintin\u2019 you should do the buyin\u2019,\u201d Dani said.<\/p>\n Hoss waved her concern aside.\u00a0 \u201cAw, shucks, ma\u2019am.\u00a0 Least we could do, seein\u2019 as how we\u2019re eatin\u2019 up what you got.\u00a0 Joe hardly ever has a spare dime in his pockets, but I\u2019ll ask.\u201d\u00a0 He suddenly remembered his brother\u2019s poker winnings and hoped\u2014prayed, more like\u2014that there was, at least, some of it left.\u00a0 Otherwise, the three of them would be in a world of hurt real fast.<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, I got some cash money,\u201d Little Joe said in answer to his brother\u2019s first question when he returned, \u201cand I reckon it is right for us to chip in, seein\u2019 as how Hoss here is likely to eat more\u2019n you and me put together.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cA healthy appetite is a compliment to the cook, little brother,\u201d Hoss said.<\/p>\n \u201cThat pretty much makes you the most complimentary person I\u2019ve ever met,\u201d Little Joe jibed back.\u00a0 Looking toward Dani, he said, \u201cJust make a list of what you want, ma\u2019am, and I\u2019ll get as much of it as I can after I pay for renting the horse.\u201d\u00a0 No one had said anything, but he\u2019d read between the lines and figured out that the meager breakfast had probably been the best she could offer, and he was heartily ashamed of how poorly he\u2019d first taken it.<\/p>\n After he\u2019d gotten the list and driven off with the wagon, Dani looked shame-faced at Hoss.\u00a0 \u201cReckon I should have told him there ain\u2019t no livery.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cReckon,\u201d Hoss said, but his wide grin told her he was just as glad she hadn\u2019t.\u00a0 \u201cOn the other hand, I reckon he\u2019ll figure it out soon enough, and we do need the supplies.\u201d\u00a0 He sobered, and his face reddened as he asked, \u201cMiss Dani, you mind if I ask you a personal question?\u201d<\/p>\n Her fingers brushed the scar on her face.\u00a0 \u201cAbout this, you mean?\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss looked flabbergasted.\u00a0 \u201cOh, no, ma\u2019am.\u00a0 Certainly not!\u00a0 I mean, sure, I noticed, and I got as much curiosity as the next man, but I wouldn\u2019t ask you to talk about anything that personal.\u00a0 What I was wonderin\u2019 was how long it\u2019d been since your husband passed, if you don\u2019t mind me askin\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n She shrugged.\u00a0 \u201cNo reason for me to mind.\u00a0 It was near five months ago.\u201d<\/p>\n Chagrin flooded Hoss\u2019s face.\u00a0 Doggone!\u00a0 That recent, and here he\u2019d been entertainin\u2019 feelings that just weren\u2019t proper to have for a newly widowed woman.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m sorry, ma\u2019am,\u201d he said.\u00a0 \u201cHere you are still grievin\u2019 and you get landed with a couple of clumsy clodhoppers like the Cartwrights.\u201d<\/p>\n She shook her head.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m not grievin\u2019, Mr. Cartwright.\u00a0 Shocked me some, that first day, left me at loose ends, but I never wasted a minute in grief.\u00a0 Sorry if that sounds hard, but Wade Bartlett never gave me reason to grieve his passing, hard as it\u2019s been to make ends meet without him.\u201d\u00a0 She turned away, not wanting him to see the mist in her eyes, fearing that a decent man like him could never understand why she wept in pity for herself, instead of in sorrow for a man\u2019s death.<\/p>\n Hoss\u2019s lips pursed briefly; then he asked, softly, \u201cWas he . . . rough with you, ma\u2019am?\u00a0 Was he the one that . . . ?\u201d\u00a0 He broke off, realizing that he\u2019d just asked the question he\u2019d said he wouldn\u2019t pry into, but he didn\u2019t take it back.\u00a0 He wanted to know.<\/p>\n Her hand again moved involuntarily toward her cheek.\u00a0 \u201cYes . . . and no.\u201d\u00a0 Seeing the quizzical cock of his head, she choked back a giggle, deeming it inappropriate for such a serious conversation, but at least it kept the tears away.\u00a0 \u201cHe was a hard man, a rough man and, yes, there were times he hurt me, lots of them, but this?\u201d\u00a0 She ran her finger along her cheek.\u00a0 \u201cWell, I don\u2019t know whether to blame him or count it an accident.\u00a0 He was beatin\u2019 me at the time\u2014nothin\u2019 new about that\u2014but he didn\u2019t cut me.\u00a0 He was late gettin\u2019 home that night, and I hadn\u2019t managed to keep his supper warm enough to suit him, so he was throwin\u2019 me around the place.\u00a0 When he knocked me into the table, the butcher knife fell off and came down on my cheek.\u201d<\/p>\n His face had hardened as she spoke.\u00a0 \u201cDon\u2019t you never feel even a mite of guilt over not mournin\u2019 a man like that, Miss Dani,\u201d he said.\u00a0 \u201cAll I can say is it\u2019s a good thing he\u2019s already dead and gone.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t wish him dead,\u201d Dani said, \u201cbut gone is good . . . real good.\u201d\u00a0 Seeing that his cup was empty, she went to the stove and brought back the pot.<\/p>\n \u201cIs that all there is?\u201d Hoss asked anxiously, as the last drops dribbled into his cup.<\/p>\n \u201cIn this pot,\u201d Dani said.\u00a0 \u201cI can make more.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh, no, no,\u201d he said.\u00a0 \u201cThat ain\u2019t what I meant.\u00a0 Just hate to leave you short, and we can\u2019t be sure whatever Joe\u2019s got in his pocket will stretch to coffee.\u201d<\/p>\n She smiled.\u00a0 \u201cThe one thing I\u2019m not short of, Hoss.\u00a0 Wade was a big coffee drinker, but I never had much taste for it myself.\u00a0 Since the tea ran out, I\u2019ve been makin\u2019 a pot now and then, but there\u2019s plenty more beans in the pantry.\u00a0 You want more?\u201d<\/p>\n He shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cNope.\u00a0 Rather sit and talk, and water\u2019ll do fine for that.\u201d\u00a0 He wished he\u2019d known before about her preference for tea; he\u2019d\u2019ve made sure to have Little Joe bring some back.\u00a0 Well, maybe he\u2019d just have to send the rascal back again tomorrow, he thought with a barely contained smile at the notion of another afternoon alone with Dani Lynne.\u00a0 He hadn\u2019t dared yet to call her that to her face, but he sure liked the ring of it and the way it felt on his tongue when he\u2019d mouthed it in the dark.<\/p>\n \u201cYou got a family, Hoss?\u201d Dani, well content to sit and talk, asked.<\/p>\n \u201cSure,\u201d Hoss said.\u00a0 He saw disappointment flash across her face, but didn\u2019t understand why.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019ve met Little Joe, of course,\u201d he rattled on, \u201cand I got an older brother, too.\u00a0 His name\u2019s Adam, and then there\u2019s Pa and Hop Sing.\u00a0 That\u2019s our cook.\u00a0 He\u2019s Chinese.\u201d<\/p>\n She fought to keep from laughing.\u00a0 \u201cI figured,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Catching her meaning, Hoss let loose a belly laugh.\u00a0 \u201cYeah, his name don\u2019t exactly conjure up an Irishman, do it?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNot exactly,\u201d she chuckled.\u00a0 \u201cIs that all?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAll?\u201d\u00a0 He looked puzzled, but suddenly understood what she was asking.\u00a0 \u201cOh, yes, ma\u2019am.\u00a0 No wife, no young\u2019uns.\u201d<\/p>\n She shook her head.\u00a0 \u201cFive men.\u00a0 And none of you have ever married?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWell, Pa did,\u201d Hoss said.\u00a0 \u201cThree times.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh, that\u2019s right.\u00a0 You said you and your brother had different mothers.\u00a0 That makes two, anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAdam\u2019s mother was the first,\u201d Hoss explained.\u00a0 \u201cThen, mine, and last of all, Little Joe\u2019s.\u00a0 She was the only one I ever knew, and she died when he was about five.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh, that\u2019s hard,\u201d Dani said. \u00a0\u201cMy mama passed when I was twelve.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, it\u2019s hard,\u201d Hoss agreed, \u201cbut Pa did a fine job of bein\u2019 both Ma and Pa.\u201d<\/p>\n She sighed.\u00a0 \u201cWish my pa had.\u201d<\/p>\n He reached across the table to take her hand.\u00a0 \u201cI do, too,\u201d he said softly.<\/p>\n Throughout the day they talked of many things, until Hoss felt that he could ask her anything without making her uncomfortable.\u00a0 Finally, he said, \u201cMiss Dani, it don\u2019t seem to me that you got much prospect here.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt don\u2019t to me, either,\u201d she admitted, \u201cbut I don\u2019t know what else I could do.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnything keeping you here?\u201d he asked.\u00a0 \u201cAnything but the property, I mean.\u00a0 You could sell that and move to a likelier place.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWouldn\u2019t even have to do that,\u201d Dani said, \u201con account of we were just squatting here, and there\u2019s still plenty of free land about for anyone to do the same.\u00a0 Course, that also means I wouldn\u2019t have any nest egg for startin\u2019 over.\u201d<\/p>\n Instead of looking discouraged by that, Hoss almost bubbled with excitement.\u00a0 \u201cThen, why don\u2019t we just pack you up and head on to the Ponderosa?\u201d<\/p>\n She drew back.\u00a0 \u201cWhat you suggestin\u2019?\u201d<\/p>\n Seeing her alarm, he was quick to say, \u201cNothin\u2019 indecent, ma\u2019am.\u00a0 Just a place to stay \u2018til you find your feet.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHow\u2019s your family gonna feel about havin\u2019 a strange woman landed on their doorstep?\u201d she probed.<\/p>\n \u201cPa and Adam?\u00a0 They\u2019ll be fine with it; we do it all the time, ma\u2019am.\u201d<\/p>\n Her alarm doubled.\u00a0 \u201cYou take in women all the time?\u201d<\/p>\n He laughed.\u00a0 \u201cNo.\u00a0 No.\u00a0 I ain\u2019t real good at stringin\u2019 words together, Miss Dani.\u00a0 I mean, sure, if\u2019n they need a helping hand, we take in women . . . and treat \u2018em with respect, too . . . but I meant anyone who\u2019s in need of help.\u00a0 Folks landin\u2019 on our doorstep ain\u2019t nothin\u2019 new to Pa; that\u2019s what I was tryin\u2019 to say.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh.\u201d\u00a0 She smiled, then, but within a second or two her brow was wrinkled in thought.\u00a0 \u201cBut what would I do to make my way, even in a new place?\u00a0 I got no skills, except keepin\u2019 house and, well, servicin\u2019 a man.\u201d\u00a0 She flared up briefly.\u00a0 \u201cI got no intentions of doin\u2019 that for a livin\u2019.\u00a0 I\u2019d rather starve!\u201d\u00a0 The fire died quickly, however, as she blushed furiously and buried her face in her hands.<\/p>\n \u201cOh, ma\u2019am, no, of course not,\u201d Hoss said.\u00a0 \u201cI didn\u2019t mean . . .\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI know you didn\u2019t,\u201d she said, looking up at him with trusting eyes.\u00a0 \u201cYou ain\u2019t the sort to even think such things.\u00a0 Besides,\u201d she added with a self-deprecating laugh, \u201cI ain\u2019t got the looks to make a dance hall floozie.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cQuit puttin\u2019 down how you look,\u201d Hoss scolded.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019re pretty now, to me, and once that scar fades some, I reckon an ugly cuss like me won\u2019t stand a chance against pretty boys like Joe.\u201d<\/p>\n Dani snorted.\u00a0 \u201cI wouldn\u2019t have him on a platter!\u201d\u00a0 She brushed her cheek then with light fingertips.\u00a0 \u201cYou think it will fade?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cScars do,\u201d Hoss said, \u201cand I take it that one\u2019s kind of fresh . . . about the time your husband passed, I\u2019m guessin\u2019.\u201d\u00a0 He gulped, for how the man had died was the one question he hadn\u2019t been able to bring himself to ask.<\/p>\n She burst out laughing.\u00a0 \u201cI didn\u2019t turn the knife on him, if that\u2019s what you\u2019re wondering.\u201d<\/p>\n The relief was visible on his open face.\u00a0 \u201cNot that I\u2019d\u2019ve blamed you,\u201d he was quick to say.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019d\u2019ve had a right to defend yourself, same as any man in a gunfight.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThank you for that,\u201d she said, still chuckling, \u201cbut you can rest easy.\u00a0 Wade took pneumonia, and I nursed him best I could.\u00a0 Maybe it would\u2019ve helped if there was a doctor here, but he worsened and died in his bed, like the righteous man he wasn\u2019t.\u00a0 I wasn\u2019t sorry, but I got nothin\u2019 to feel guilt over, and that\u2019s a blessing.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnyway,\u201d Hoss said, \u201cgettin\u2019 back to the subject, I sure wish you\u2019d come with us.\u00a0 There ain\u2019t nothin\u2019 for you here, Miss Dani, and maybe in Virginia City you could make that new start.\u00a0 You got skill as a cook, if nothin\u2019 else; I can tell that much from what you\u2019re able to do with what little you got.\u00a0 You could hire out to do that or be a housekeeper or, if you\u2019re good with a needle, take up dressmaking.\u00a0 I know there\u2019s things you can do, Miss Dani, that\u2019ll make you a better livin\u2019 than hunting these hills or tryin\u2019 to be a miner, which I figure you got less gift for than bakin\u2019 biscuits.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s the pure truth,\u201d she admitted.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd, well, to tell the pure truth,\u201d Hoss said, \u201cI\u2019d sure like you to come with us, so I could have the chance to know you better.\u00a0 I like you a lot, Miss Dani.\u201d<\/p>\n She twiddled with the hem of her apron.\u00a0 \u201cI like you a lot, too, Hoss, and knowin\u2019 you better would be something I\u2019d relish, too.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIs it settled, then?\u201d he asked eagerly.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019ll come?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIf\u2019n your little brother don\u2019t pitch a fit,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cIf he does, I\u2019ll pitch him out the front door,\u201d Hoss vowed, looking serious, although she\u2019d seen enough of the give and take between him and Joe to know he wasn\u2019t.<\/p>\n \u201cServe him right,\u201d she teased back.\u00a0 \u201cIn fact, I might just go along with you to aggravate the rascal.\u201d<\/p>\n He took her hand and gave it a good shake.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s a deal, then.\u00a0 Now, what can I do to help you pack up?\u201d<\/p>\n *****<\/p>\n Little Joe came back madder than a wet hen.\u00a0 \u201cYou think you might have mentioned that there wasn\u2019t a livery in town?\u201d he grumbled, giving Dani a hard glare.<\/p>\n \u201cI guess I might\u2019ve,\u201d she said, turning away lest she give in to her urge to giggle.<\/p>\n \u201cWe needed supplies, anyway,\u201d Hoss put in quickly, \u201cunless you planned to give up eatin\u2019 altogether, little brother.\u201d<\/p>\n Little Joe hitched his neck first one way and then the other.\u00a0 \u201cNot altogether,\u201d he admitted, \u201cand I brought plenty.\u00a0 Even found some of those canned peaches you like so much, Hoss.\u201d<\/p>\n Dani spun around from whatever she was doing, leaning over a crate on the bed.\u00a0 \u201cOh, good.\u00a0 If\u2019n you brought flour and sugar, too, I can make us a pie.\u00a0 I still got some lard and salt.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI brought both,\u201d Little Joe said.\u00a0 \u201cI just had enough for staples, mostly\u2014flour, sugar, potatoes, carrots, onions.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSounds like stew and pie for supper,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cAh, now, you don\u2019t have time to make a wallopin\u2019 meal like that,\u201d Hoss protested.<\/p>\n Little Joe stared at his brother as if he\u2019d lost his mind or, at least, grown an extra head to drain off half his thinking power. \u00a0Since when did Hoss turn down any meal, wallopin\u2019 or otherwise?\u00a0 And what on earth was Miss Dani supposed to be so busy with that would keep her from puttin\u2019 a meal on the table?\u00a0 \u201cWhat are you doin\u2019 there, ma\u2019am?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n Hoss answered.\u00a0 \u201cHadn\u2019t had a chance to tell you yet, Shortshanks, but Dani Lynne here is gonna let us use her wagon to get home.\u201d\u00a0 They gotten so chummy that afternoon that he\u2019d finally worked up the courage to use the name he liked so much.<\/p>\n \u201cSince there\u2019s no livery,\u201d she said over her shoulder.\u00a0 \u201cSeems like the only way to get shed of you.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cShe\u2019s goin\u2019 with us, of course,\u201d Hoss said.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat?\u201d\u00a0 No doubt about it: Hoss had grown an extra head, \u2018cause he clearly wasn\u2019t thinking straight.\u00a0 \u201cGood lands, Hoss.\u00a0 That\u2019s a long, rough trip for a woman, and we\u2019d see to it she got the rig back, if that\u2019s what\u2019s worryin\u2019 her.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not worried.\u201d\u00a0 This time Dani definitely giggled.\u00a0 The look on the rascal\u2019s face plain invited it.\u00a0 \u201cFigured turn about was fair play, so I\u2019m just gonna move in with you a spell.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat?\u201d\u00a0 As Little Joe\u2019s head swiveled from one grinning face to the other, he made up his mind.\u00a0 Both of them had definitely lost theirs.<\/p>\n \u201cWell, pitch in and help Miss Dani pack up,\u201d Hoss ordered.\u00a0 \u201cLeast we can do, if she\u2019s gonna take time to bake us a pie, and I can\u2019t do much, hobblin\u2019 around like I am.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOkay,\u201d Little Joe said slowly.\u00a0 He was all in favor of peach pie and stew, of course, though he had no idea what she\u2019d use for meat, since his money hadn\u2019t stretched past bacon.\u00a0 Besides, it might be better just to go along with these lunatics until he got a chance to talk to Hoss alone.\u00a0 He\u2019d always had a knack for talking his brother into things; hopefully, it would work just as well for talking him out of one.<\/p>\n His chance didn\u2019t come until they\u2019d all turned in for the night.\u00a0 \u201cHoss, I don\u2019t know how to tell you this,\u201d he whispered, \u201cbut I don\u2019t think Miss Dani is plannin\u2019 on comin\u2019 back here.\u201d\u00a0 If she was, she\u2019d lost her mind for sure, \u2018cause she\u2019d packed up all her pots and pans, as well as every stitch of clothing she owned.\u00a0 Granted, that wasn\u2019t much, as he\u2019d noticed when he loaded the wagon, but it was more than any woman ought to need for a short time away.<\/p>\n \u201cOf course, she ain\u2019t,\u201d Hoss said.\u00a0 \u201cNo reason for her to.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAin\u2019t much of a place, I admit,\u201d Little Joe conceded.<\/p>\n \u201cExactly.\u00a0 That\u2019s why I talked her into comin\u2019 to the Ponderosa.\u201d<\/p>\n Little Joe felt, rather than saw, the huge grin on his brother\u2019s face.\u00a0 \u201cUh\u2014uh, you ain\u2019t gettin\u2019 any notions about\u2014uh . . .\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMaybe,\u201d Hoss said.\u00a0 \u201cShe says she ain\u2019t grievin\u2019 her husband, but I reckon it\u2019s too soon for her to be takin\u2019 up with another man just yet.\u00a0 I ain\u2019t gonna push, but I sure am drawn to her, Joe.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cTake it slow, brother,\u201d Little Joe advised.\u00a0 \u201cReal slow.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh, like you always do?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, yeah,\u201d Little Joe admitted, \u201cbut I get over \u2018em quicker than you, too, brother.\u00a0 Take it slow.\u00a0 She might just blow your head off, if she decides you\u2019re . . . you know . . .\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cA rascal like you?\u201d he snickered.<\/p>\n \u201cShh, shh,\u201d Joe hissed.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019re gonna wake her up, and then the two of us might get blown out o\u2019 the bed.\u201d<\/p>\n Dani stifled a snicker.\u00a0 She wasn\u2019t about to let on, but she was even starting to take some liking to the rascal who\u2019d held her at gunpoint.\u00a0 As for his brother, she couldn\u2019t deny the attraction she felt for Hoss, and the fact that he was so concerned about whether she was ready for a new relationship made her like him all the more . . . if like was even the right word.\u00a0 Not love; not yet.\u00a0 She wasn\u2019t even sure she knew what that felt like.\u00a0 Nothing she\u2019d known before had prepared her for a man who could care\u2014or was it love?\u2014so selflessly.<\/p>\n *****<\/p>\n If he lived to be a hundred, Little Joe grumbled internally as the wagon hit yet another bump in the road, he was never likely to endure a more uncomfortable trip.\u00a0 In the first place, there plain wasn\u2019t much place for him in the back of the wagon, amidst most of Dani Bartlett\u2019s worldly possessions, and of course, it went without saying that there wasn\u2019t room for him on the seat up front.\u00a0 That was amply filled with his bulky brother and the diminutive widow, with a scant few inches left between for decency and propriety.\u00a0 Frankly, it seemed to Joe as they lurched along, that the inches grew scanter, right along with the concern for decency and propriety.<\/p>\n But if the accommodations were uncomfortable, they were nothing, compared to the conversation that pounded his ears from first light to dying firelight.\u00a0 The two lovebirds, for no other title did them justice, explored each other\u2019s lives and feelings on every topic under the sun, his own opinion unwelcome on any topic beyond whether he wanted a second cup of coffee in the mornings.\u00a0 The day it turned to childbearing, however, he knew things between his brother and the lady were moving much too fast.<\/p>\n They both agreed they would love to have a passel of kids.\u00a0 (They were just talking generally, of course, neither of them yet admitting that they were thinking of the other as a possible sire for those kids.\u00a0 If that was the right word for the female in the partnership.\u00a0 Mire, maybe?\u00a0 Sire and mire.\u00a0 Yeah, that was about the size of it; he was afraid his big brother was about to get himself mired down with a shotgun-wielding desert lady.)\u00a0 The only sticking point seemed to be Dani\u2019s concern that he might not welcome all young\u2019uns equally.\u00a0 Knowing something of her background by now, Little Joe wasn\u2019t surprised to hear her ask if Hoss would rather have boys or girls, but having to ask sure proved that she didn\u2019t know him well enough to even be considering having kids with him.<\/p>\n Of course, Hoss had answered, just as Little Joe had known he would, that it didn\u2019t make him a mite of difference.\u00a0 \u201cJust so long as they\u2019re healthy,\u201d he\u2019d said, adding with a little wink at the lady that he\u2019d just as soon have a pretty little gal, like Dani Lynne herself.\u00a0 Maybe it was her not seeing herself that way that made her clam up after that, but Little Joe was sure glad she had.\u00a0 His ears had a few minutes peace, at least, even if his mind didn\u2019t.\u00a0 They were getting close to the Ponderosa, and the looming dread of how to explain all this to Pa effectively drove from his head his growing concern for what Hoss was contemplating with the lady.<\/p>\n They were about a quarter mile from the house when Little Joe rose up.\u00a0 \u201cI think I\u2019ll walk the rest of the way, stretch my legs a mite,\u201d he announced.<\/p>\n \u201cYou stay put, Joseph,\u201d Hoss said in the closest thing to a no-nonsense voice he ever achieved.\u00a0 \u201cYou ain\u2019t about to send me on ahead to explain things to Pa.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cExplain what?\u201d Little Joe squeaked.\u00a0 \u201cWhy you went hunting and came home with a woman, instead of a deer?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat ain\u2019t gonna bother Pa none,\u201d Hoss said.\u00a0 \u201cOn t\u2019other hand, I reckon you got your hands full, explainin\u2019 how we set off for the Sierras and ended up losin\u2019 our horses in the Humboldt range.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI never said the Sierras,\u201d Little Joe protested.<\/p>\n \u201cYeah.\u201d\u00a0 Hoss shook his head with a cunning grin, \u201cbut what counts is what you led Pa\u2014not to mention me\u2014to believe.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh, well, if you\u2019d rather we\u2019d gone the other way,\u201d Little Joe tossed back.<\/p>\n Hoss looked fondly at Dani.\u00a0 \u201cNever said that.\u00a0 I forgive you, little brother.\u00a0 May even end up thanking you, but Pa and Adam don\u2019t got the reasons I do to overlook your orneriness.\u00a0 And I hate to even think about how Hop Sing\u2019s gonna take on when he don\u2019t get those trout you promised him.\u00a0 I\u2019d make sure there ain\u2019t a meat cleaver close to hand when you let that out, little brother.\u00a0 Now, sit yourself down and think on how you\u2019re gonna get yourself out of this one.\u201d \u00a0That Joe could was something he didn\u2019t doubt for a minute; his little brother had a silver tongue when he came to talking his way out of scrapes.\u00a0 Besides, once Pa and Adam got one look at pretty little Miss Dani Lynne, they wouldn\u2019t fret over whatever scheme of Joe\u2019s had brought her to the Ponderosa.\u00a0 Pa\u2019d probably start calculating when his first grandchild might make an appearance, and if things went the way Hoss was hoping, he figured Pa\u2019d be holding that fat, healthy grandboy or girl a year or so from today.<\/p>\n *****<\/p>\n Hearing horses coming into the yard late one afternoon, Adam went to the door and looked out.\u00a0 \u201cPa, they\u2019re back,\u201d he called, \u201cand they\u2019ve brought someone with them.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat Hoss,\u201d Ben chuckled.\u00a0 \u201cAlways bringing back strays, even from the high mountains.\u00a0 At least, it\u2019s not an injured raccoon.\u201d<\/p>\n Adam grinned.\u00a0 \u201cDefinitely not a raccoon,\u201d he said.\u00a0 \u201cIn fact, considering the type of stray it is, it\u2019s more likely Joe that brought her home.\u201d<\/p>\n That remark, of course, was guaranteed to bring Ben Cartwright to his feet, and he was on his oldest son\u2019s heels as they went out to meet the wagon.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re back early,\u201d Adam called, \u201cand I see you had to borrow a wagon to haul back all the fresh meat and fish you harvested.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNow, hush your joshin\u2019,\u201d Hoss scolded.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019ll give Miss Dani here a bad impression of Cartwright hospitality.\u201d<\/p>\n Adam nodded to the woman seated beside his brother.\u00a0 \u201cPleased to meet you, Miss Dani.\u201d<\/p>\n Ben came forward.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m pleased to meet you, as well, young lady.\u00a0 I\u2019m Ben Cartwright, Hoss\u2019s father.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI figured,\u201d she said with a shy smile, \u201cand you\u2019d be Adam.\u201d\u00a0 She nodded at the other man.<\/p>\n Where\u2019s your other brother?\u201d Ben asked.<\/p>\n Hoss pointed a thumb over his shoulder.\u00a0 \u201cCome on out, Joseph,\u201d he called.<\/p>\n Little Joe peeked up over the seat, between its two occupants.\u00a0 \u201cOh, hi, Pa.\u201d\u00a0 He yawned as if he were just waking up.\u00a0 \u201cBet you\u2019re surprised to see us home early and bringing a wagonload of goods, too.\u201d\u00a0 He chuckled nervously.<\/p>\n \u201cJoseph, little you do surprises me anymore,\u201d Ben said.\u00a0 Because a guest was present, he refrained, for the time being, from demanding an explanation.<\/p>\n Adam, on the other hand, had no such qualms.\u00a0 \u201cWhere\u2019re your horses?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n \u201cUh, well, that\u2019s a long, sad story, brother,\u201d Little Joe said as he clambered down from the wagon and stretched his aching back.<\/p>\n \u201cIf it\u2019s going to take that long, perhaps you should start talking,\u201d Adam said dryly.<\/p>\n Hoss came to his little brother\u2019s rescue.\u00a0 \u201cIt can wait,\u201d he said, \u201cleast \u2018til we\u2019ve had a cold drink of water.\u00a0 It\u2019s been a long, hot drive.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOf course,\u201d Ben said at once.\u00a0 \u201cDo come inside, miss.\u00a0 I think we might persuade Hop Sing to make us a pitcher of fresh lemonade.\u201d\u00a0 He reached up to help Dani down.<\/p>\n \u201cThat sounds like heaven,\u201d she said as her toes touched ground.<\/p>\n When Hoss climbed down, however, everyone\u2019s attention was diverted from their guest by the way he hobbled toward the house.\u00a0 Ben immediately moved to his son\u2019s side.\u00a0 \u201cHoss, what\u2019s wrong?\u00a0 You hurt, boy?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cJust a mite, Pa,\u201d Hoss said, his wince belying his words as he put his arm over his pa\u2019s shoulders.<\/p>\n As Ben helped his son into the house, Adam offered his arm to the young woman and escorted her in, with Little Joe reluctantly dragging behind them, a ranch hand having come out from the bunkhouse to tend to the team.<\/p>\n Hop Sing soon bustled into the front room with a pitcher of lemonade on a tray with tall glasses filled with ice from the packed-in-straw supply they\u2019d harvested last winter.\u00a0 \u201cWhere meat?\u201d he demanded.\u00a0 \u201cNot good leave meat and fish in hot sun.\u201d<\/p>\n When Little Joe didn\u2019t answer, Hoss said, \u201cAin\u2019t no meat, nor fish neither, except for some bacon.\u201d<\/p>\n Hop Sing snorted.\u00a0 \u201cThat what you hunt?\u00a0 Better you go Virginia City, not mountains.\u201d\u00a0 Jabbering something indecipherable, he shuffled back to the kitchen to continue his supper preparations.<\/p>\n \u201cNo luck at all?\u201d Ben asked incredulously.\u00a0 \u201cThe Sierras are usually teeming with game.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIs this where the long, sad story begins?\u201d Adam asked, sending a smirk in Little Joe\u2019s direction.<\/p>\n \u201cIt dead sure don\u2019t begin in the Sierras, does it, little brother?\u201d\u00a0 Hoss winked at Adam, egging him on in the right direction.<\/p>\n \u201cIsn\u2019t that where you were goin?\u201d\u00a0 Adam acted innocent, although his intent was anything but.<\/p>\n \u201cUh . . . no,\u201d Little Joe stammered with a long, pleading look in Hoss\u2019s direction that produced nothing but Hoss\u2019s best imitation of Adam\u2019s smirk.\u00a0 \u201cWell, you see, it\u2019s like this:\u00a0 I\u2014uh\u2014never actually said where . . . or what . . . we\u2019d be hunting.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t realize, of course, that you\u2019d assumed it was the mountains west of here.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat other mountains would we assume you\u2019d be hunting, young man?\u201d Ben demanded.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd what might we assume you\u2019d be hunting, other than game?\u201d Adam added with a knowing chuckled.\u00a0 The way the kid was squirming and hedging every word, he had a feeling Joe\u2019s long, sad story would not only provide twitting material for months, if not decades, to come, but might even go down in the annals of Cartwright lore.<\/p>\n \u201cYes, Joseph,\u201d Ben Cartwright continued, \u201cwe\u2019d be most interested in an answer to both those questions . . . without any more hemming and hawing around.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWell, you see, I\u2014uh\u2014came into possession of this map,\u201d Little Joe began.\u00a0 Then he launched into an explanation so filled with hems and haws that, eventually, Hoss took pity on his family and finished for his brother.<\/p>\n The older two Cartwrights were struggling to contain their totally opposing emotions.\u00a0 Adam, known for his control in any situation, managed to hold his amusement to an occasional chuckle, while Ben\u2019s head of steam kept building until he finally blew.\u00a0 \u201cIs that all?\u201d he shouted.\u00a0 \u201cYou didn\u2019t rob any banks or stumble across any gypsy girls during this escapade?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo, Pa, of course not,\u201d Little Joe said.\u00a0 \u201cYou know I wouldn\u2019t\u201d\u2014he stopped, remembering that he had, on a couple of occasions, been guilty of exactly those infractions.<\/p>\n \u201cNo, Joseph, I don\u2019t know that,\u201d Ben said, incensed, \u201cand, furthermore, I don\u2019t know that you won\u2019t lie about your whereabouts, do I?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t lie, Pa!\u201d Joe insisted.\u00a0 \u201cI just . . . well . . . didn\u2019t say.\u201d\u00a0 He finished weakly as he saw his father rise to his feet and tower over him.<\/p>\n \u201cAn avoidance of the truth amounts to a lie, young man,\u201d Ben stormed.\u00a0 \u201cAnd what was the result?\u00a0 You lost your horses; you got your brother hurt and both of you stranded.\u00a0 Even if your mounts had made it home, we\u2019d have gone searching for you in the exact opposite direction from where you were!\u00a0 All because you \u2018didn\u2019t say\u2019 where you would be!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, yeah, I see your point, Pa,\u201d Joe said hurriedly; then grinning in desperation, he added, \u201cBut I did get help for Hoss, after all.\u201d<\/p>\n Ben\u2019s glower grew darker.\u00a0 \u201cAnd exactly how did you obtain that help, young man?\u00a0 You accosted a woman in her home and took her only means of transportation at gunpoint.\u00a0 She\u2019d be within her rights to send for the sheriff and have you put in jail!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI wouldn\u2019t; I won\u2019t,\u201d Dani whispered.\u00a0 Almost in tears, she pleaded, \u201cOh, please don\u2019t hurt him, not on my account.\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss, seated beside her, felt her tremble.\u00a0 \u201cPa, ease up some.\u201d\u00a0 He squeezed Dani\u2019s hand.\u00a0 \u201cNot everyone knows better than to take you serious.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI know someone who had better take me seriously,\u201d Ben said, but his voice softened, and his face relaxed.\u00a0 \u201cI apologize, ma\u2019am.\u00a0 I\u2019d forgotten we had a guest.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou forget wash up for supper, too,\u201d Hop Sing scolded.\u00a0 \u201cDo now, please, and come to table before I throw away.\u201d<\/p>\n Adam stood at once.\u00a0 \u201cOf course, Hop Sing,\u201d he said placatingly.\u00a0 \u201cWe\u2019ll do that at once, so your fine meal doesn\u2019t grow cold.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cCome on, Dani,\u201d Hoss said, standing and offering her his hand.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll show you where you can clean up.\u00a0 He led her into the downstairs guest room, and as soon as he\u2019d closed the door, he took her in his arms.\u00a0 She was still shaking, he noticed as he rubbed her back gently.<\/p>\n Finally, her breathing slowed and she stepped back.\u00a0 \u201cWill he beat him?\u201d she asked anxiously.<\/p>\n \u201cHuh?\u201d\u00a0 In an instant Hoss understood what she was asking . . . and why.\u00a0 \u201cNo, of course not,\u201d he assured her.\u00a0 \u201cPa barks and blusters, and he paddled the boy\u2019s canoe some when he was young and headstrong, but not like your pa done.\u00a0 Just enough to get the message across, but never enough to hurt.\u201d<\/p>\n Dani wiped her eyes.\u00a0 \u201cI know me and Joe\u2019s had our differences, but I can\u2019t abide seein\u2019 any living thing hurt . . . even the rascal.\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss grinned at what had become their pet name for his little brother.\u00a0 \u201cThe rascal\u2019s safe enough,\u201d he promised, vowing to himself to share enough of Dani\u2019s story so his father wouldn\u2019t tear into anyone in front of her again.\u00a0 Dani still had some healing to do, he thought, and until she did, he\u2019d make it his job to protect her, even from his family\u2019s tendency\u2014and his own, for that matter\u2014to jokingly threaten what they had no intention of actually doing.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll fetch you some water,\u201d he said, reaching for the pitcher in a bowl on the chest of drawers.<\/p>\n She took it from him.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll do the fetchin\u2019 and carryin\u2019,\u201d she said.\u00a0 \u201cYou sit down and put your foot up.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes\u2019m,\u201d he said and settled into the single chair in the room.<\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t mean\u2014ooh!\u00a0 I\u2019m beginnin\u2019 to see where the rascal gets it from.\u201d\u00a0 Still, she was smiling as she took the pitcher and flounced out of the room.\u00a0 She was back soon.\u00a0 Filling the bowl, she looked over her shoulder.\u00a0 \u201cYou gonna watch me?\u201d she said.\u00a0 \u201cI think I can be trusted to wash behind my ears.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI reckon,\u201d he said, \u201cbut I was figurin\u2019 to wash my own face after you were done.\u00a0 I\u2019m dirty, too.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI won\u2019t argue with that,\u201d she chuckled.\u00a0 \u201cHate to come to table in this dusty dress, but then I\u2019d hate to make your family wait while I change.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWon\u2019t matter none.\u201d\u00a0 As she washed up, he smiled at the image conjuring in his head of a time when this might be a nightly ritual for the two of them.\u00a0 \u201cDani Lynne,\u201d he said, \u201cI was thinkin\u2019 I might ride into town tomorrow and let the doc take a look at my foot.\u00a0 You wanna ride along with me?\u00a0 We could pick up any little thing you think you might need.\u201d<\/p>\n She turned to face him.\u00a0 \u201cI still got next-to-no cash money.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnything you need\u2019s on me.\u201d\u00a0 He raised a palm toward her as her mouth opened to protest.\u00a0 \u201cNo.\u00a0 I insist.\u00a0 If it weren\u2019t for you, I\u2019d be stranded out in them hills, maybe even dead.\u00a0 Least I can do in thanks is buy you a few female gewgaws.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWell, we\u2019ll see,\u201d she said, \u201cbut I\u2019ll ride along with you.\u00a0 Maybe we\u2019ll hear of someone hirin\u2019 a cook or such.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMaybe,\u201d he said, in two minds about that.\u00a0 Her finding a job would help her stay close by, but he was hoping she wouldn\u2019t just yet, so he could keep her here at the Ponderosa for a spell.\u00a0 He hadn\u2019t asked yet if she could, but he knew his father.\u00a0 Pa might complain about the strays he brought home, but he\u2019d never turned one away, not even the wild ones he\u2019d been forced to turn loose, once they were healed.\u00a0 Dani wasn\u2019t wild, but just as much in need of healing as any chipmunk or bear cub.<\/p>\n *****<\/p>\n \u201cWhat you think, Doc?\u201d Hoss asked as Paul Martin finished his examination of Hoss\u2019s foot.\u00a0 \u201cPretty bad sprain, I reckon.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think it\u2019s a sprain, Hoss,\u201d the doctor replied, looking grave.<\/p>\n \u201cIt ain\u2019t broke,\u201d Hoss said.\u00a0 \u201cI think I\u2019d know if it was broke.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo, not broken,\u201d the doctor said, \u201cthough I\u2019d be more confident if it were.\u00a0 From the popping sound you described when it happened, I think you may have torn your Achilles tendon, son.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHuh?\u00a0 Ain\u2019t never heard of that, Doc.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a cord that connects the muscles of your calf to your heel, Hoss,\u201d Dr. Martin explained.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m hoping it\u2019s only a partial tear and that it will heal itself, but that can take a long time, and you\u2019ll be spending it on crutches.\u00a0 No weight whatsoever.\u00a0 Ice it down regularly and rest it as much as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cGuess that means I ain\u2019t going on roundup, huh?\u201d<\/p>\n The doctor laughed.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019re not riding anything rougher than an easy chair or the seat of the buggy you drove here.\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss skewed a sour smile.\u00a0 \u201cPuts us down a man, but I reckon it can\u2019t be helped.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI think I have a set of crutches that might work,\u201d the doctor said.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll help you out to the waiting room and check on that.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThanks, Doc.\u00a0 Listen, I got a friend out there.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI saw her,\u201d the doctor said.\u00a0 \u201cShe seems very nice.\u201d\u00a0 He\u2019d seen the tall young man grow up from a never-small child and knew how rare a thing it was for him to keep company with a young lady, so he was hoping the best for his old friend\u2019s son, the one he secretly thought would make the best husband of Ben\u2019s three boys.<\/p>\n \u201cOh, she is,\u201d Hoss said, \u201cbut she\u2019s got that scar on her face.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI saw that, too,\u201d the doctor said quietly.\u00a0 \u201cYou know how it happened?\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss told him and then said, \u201cI talked her in to lettin\u2019 you take a look at it.\u00a0 I\u2019m hopin\u2019 you can convince her that it ain\u2019t as bad as she thinks or that it\u2019ll fade in time or somethin\u2019 like that.\u00a0 It don\u2019t matter to me, no how, but she thinks less of herself \u2018cause of it, I can tell.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cA woman would,\u201d the doctor murmured.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t lie to my patients, Hoss, but I think I can give her some reassurance.\u00a0 I\u2019ll see her before I search for the crutches, then.\u201d<\/p>\n Dani timidly entered the exam room.\u00a0 \u201cDon\u2019t know what Hoss told you,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cHe told me how the accident happened,\u201d Dr. Martin said as he helped her onto the exam table and gently probed her cheek.\u00a0 \u201cWas the knife clean or had it been used?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cUsed it to cut up the raw meat for supper,\u201d she said.\u00a0 \u201cThat make it worse?\u201d<\/p>\n He nodded.\u00a0 \u201cGreater chance of infection.\u00a0 From the redness that\u2019s still showing, I\u2019m concerned some of that might still be festering inside, although your natural resources seem to have thrown off most of it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWill it lighten up, then, once I throw it all off?\u201d she asked, looking hopeful.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you throw it off, it\u2019ll lighten in time,\u201d he said.\u00a0 \u201cThere\u2019s a fair chance you will, but if you\u2019re willing, I could open the wound again and clean it out properly.\u00a0 I think if I stitch it up this time, there\u2019s also a good chance of minimizing the scar, making it thinner, at least.\u201d\u00a0 Seeing her nervous lick of her lips, he said, \u201cI realize that may be an odd suggestion, to cut your cheek open again, but I think you\u2019d be better pleased with the result, and I could do it under anesthetic, so you wouldn\u2019t feel any pain except what normally occurs as a cut heals.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not afeared of that,\u201d she said.\u00a0 \u201cI know how to handle pain.\u201d<\/p>\n All too well<\/em>, he sensed, also sensing that there was something else troubling her.\u00a0 He waited, not even asking.\u00a0 The instincts Hoss Cartwright had always shown toward wounded critters the doctor had developed, as well, in his years of dealing with wounded humans.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2014I don\u2019t have money enough to be payin\u2019 for such as that,\u201d she finally said.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll be lookin\u2019 for work, and if you\u2019ll tell me how much it\u2019ll be, maybe I could figure how long it would take me to save it up, and you could tell me then if\u2019n that would be too late to do any good.\u201d<\/p>\n He smiled compassionately.\u00a0 \u201cSooner is always better when dealing with infection,\u201d he advised.\u00a0 \u201cWhy don\u2019t I do the work and trust you to pay it off over time?\u201d\u00a0 As she started to protest, he raised a silencing hand.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019re not the only patient I\u2019ve ever made that bargain with, and I\u2019ve rarely had reason to regret it.\u00a0 If you\u2019re willing, we could do it today.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019ll make it harder to get a job,\u201d she murmured, \u201cif I look ugly enough to scare young\u2019uns.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou won\u2019t scare young\u2019uns,\u201d he promised, \u201cbut if it\u2019s a job you\u2019re needing, I think I know someone in need of nursing care, and he won\u2019t care a fig how you look.\u201d\u00a0 He gestured with his head toward the waiting room behind the closed door.<\/p>\n \u201cHoss?\u201d she asked, surprised.\u00a0 \u201cIs his foot bad, then?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBad enough,\u201d Dr. Martin said.\u00a0 \u201cHe needs to stay off it, which means he\u2019ll be staying home from roundup, and with the rest of the family gone, he\u2019ll need someone to make him meals, maybe fetch and carry from time to time.\u00a0 If you think you could manage that, I think I could talk him into taking you on.\u201d<\/p>\n She laughed.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t think it\u2019s gonna take a lot of talking\u2014for either of us.\u201d<\/p>\n He laughed, too.\u00a0 \u201cI didn\u2019t think it would.\u00a0 I\u2019ll step out long enough for you to take off your bodice and get him those crutches I promised.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes, sir, but could I ask you one other thing?\u201d<\/p>\n He turned back to her.\u00a0 \u201cOf course.\u201d<\/p>\n She blushed furiously.\u00a0 \u201cCan you tell if a woman is fit to bear children\u2014healthy children, I mean?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou look healthy enough,\u201d he said with a kindly smile.\u00a0 \u201cIs there some reason you\u2019re afraid you might not be able to carry a child?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m more afeared it might not be able to get out proper,\u201d she whispered, looking down in shame.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m\u2014I\u2019m damaged goods, Doctor.\u201d<\/p>\n His jaw tightened.\u00a0 \u201cYour husband\u2019s work?\u201d<\/p>\n She nodded.\u00a0 \u201cHe knocked me around a lot.\u00a0 Maybe Hoss told you?\u201d\u00a0 Seeing him nod gravely, she continued, \u201cThere was this one time, couple years back, that he was doin\u2019 that, and I fell straight down on my tailbone.\u00a0 Pain was as bad as anything I ever felt, and I can\u2019t help thinkin\u2019 I must\u2019ve broke something down there.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDoes it still hurt?\u201d he asked, concerned.<\/p>\n \u201cNo, sir, not now, though it did for a long time.\u00a0 I\u2019m just scared, I reckon,\u201d she admitted.\u00a0 \u201cIf\u2019n I ain\u2019t right, I wouldn\u2019t want to . . .\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cRemarry?\u201d<\/p>\n Her blush deepened in her knowledge that he knew exactly who she was dreaming of as that future mate.\u00a0 \u201cYes, sir, if I prove worthy.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve no doubt of that, but I\u2019ll check you out thoroughly after I finish with your cheek.\u00a0 I\u2019ll need you to undress fully from the waist down,\u201d he said.\u00a0 \u201cGet back on the table once you\u2019re ready and cover up with the sheet; I\u2019ll be with you shortly.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t tell him, please,\u201d she pleaded.<\/p>\n \u201cI guard all my patients\u2019 privacy, dear,\u201d he said as he left in search of the crutches.<\/p>\n *****<\/p>\n Dr. Martin waited until his patient woke from the light anesthetic he\u2019d administered and was fully dressed and ready to leave before he discussed what his other examination had revealed.\u00a0 \u201cYour question was whether you could give birth to healthy children,\u201d he said.\u00a0 \u201cThe answer is yes.\u201d<\/p>\n Her face was alight with such pure joy that he hated to snatch it away, but he had to tell her the complete truth.\u00a0 \u201cHowever, you might not want to.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhy wouldn\u2019t I want to, if I can?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\n \u201cBecause you were right.\u00a0 The violence you suffered did result in a broken coccyx . . . your tailbone,\u201d he said in answer to her quizzical look.\u00a0 \u201cYou remember how painful that was?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes,\u201d she said, \u201cbut it didn\u2019t last forever.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s good; that means it did heal, though probably not exactly as it was before,\u201d he said, adding soberly, \u201cbut having suffered a broken coccyx once, you\u2019re at greater risk of a second break . . . especially during an event like childbirth . . . particularly if the child is a large one, as someone the size of Hoss Cartwright, for example, might be expected to sire.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh.\u201d\u00a0 She sobered, too, but after a moment\u2019s reflection, she asked, \u201cBut the child\u2014it wouldn\u2019t be harmed?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo, the child would be the one breaking the bone.\u201d\u00a0 He almost smiled as he saw the light return to her eyes, but he had a physician\u2019s obligation to make sure she fully understood the risk she was facing.\u00a0 \u201cYou must realize, though, that while you suffered no lasting effects from the original break, there is no guarantee that a second one wouldn\u2019t result in continuing tenderness in that area, when you\u2019re sitting or rising from a chair, for instance.\u00a0 Considering that, giving birth is something you should only attempt after you and any future husband have given it serious thought.\u00a0 Do you have any other questions?\u201d<\/p>\n Eyes veiled, she shook her head.\u00a0 He took her by the hand, then, and escorted her to the outer room, where Hoss was waiting.\u00a0 Dr. Martin walked them to the door and helped them both safely into the buggy.<\/p>\n As he drove out of town, Hoss said, \u201cYou\u2019re mighty quiet, Dani Lynne.\u00a0 Everything go all right?\u201d<\/p>\n She looked up at him and smiled.\u00a0 \u201cEverything went fine; I\u2019m just tired, I guess.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMe, too,\u201d he admitted.\u00a0 \u201cThis took longer than I\u2019d figured, so I guess we\u2019ll have to come back another day to do any shopping you need.\u201d<\/p>\n She slipped her arm through his.\u00a0 \u201cI have everything I need for now,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n *****<\/p>\n Dani lay awake long into the night.\u00a0 Her cheek throbbed a little, but it was more the thoughts swirling in her head that kept her from sleep.\u00a0 She\u2019d told him she had everything she needed, and she hadn\u2019t been talking about \u201cfemale gewgaws,\u201d either; she\u2019d meant him.\u00a0 Now here she lay, dreaming dreams she\u2019d never dared, filled with imaginations a woman like her knew better than to entertain.\u00a0 Such dreams were only for pretty girls; she\u2019d known that almost from her first breath, yet she was dreaming, anyway, of life with a good man, when she\u2019d grown up thinking there were none.<\/p>\n Hoss had changed that.\u00a0 Oh, she\u2019d known decent men before and seen the difference between them and those she\u2019d lived with, but the other kind were still more plentiful, and most of them hadn\u2019t paid much mind to her.\u00a0 Hoss had, though; he\u2019d even called her pretty, which might prove nothing more than that he was weak-eyed, but if being paired with a blind man was what it took to find one that didn\u2019t see her flaws, she\u2019d welcome him with open arms.\u00a0 Open heart?\u00a0 That\u2019s what she wasn\u2019t sure of: that she could.\u00a0 Could she ever get past thinking of men as the source of pain and disdain? \u00a0\u00a0If she could ever see one as the wellspring of love, though, she thought it might be this one.<\/p>\n *****<\/p>\n They stood together in the yard, watching the others ride out.\u00a0 Even Hop Sing had gone on the roundup as chuck wagon cook, so they were alone in the house.\u00a0 It was daring, almost scandalous, an unmarried man and woman, living alone under the same roof, but she was an employee now, his nurse, though she still felt more like a guest.\u00a0 She\u2019d insisted she only needed room and board in payment, but Ben Cartwright had insisted just as strongly that there\u2019d be something else besides.\u00a0 \u201cYou don\u2019t know how much this boy of mine can eat,\u201d he\u2019d said.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019ll earn your keep, Miss Dani, as a cook alone.\u201d\u00a0 As if cooking for a healthy eater who bragged on every bite was a chore!<\/p>\n \u201cCome on,\u201d she said to Hoss as his family disappeared around the bend in the road.\u00a0 \u201cTime we got you back inside.\u00a0 You\u2019re supposed to be restin\u2019 that tendon thing.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNot every minute,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cYes, every minute,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cYou sure?\u201d\u00a0 He bent his head toward her and touched his lips lightly to hers.<\/p>\n \u201cWell, most minutes,\u201d she said, feeling weak in the knees.\u00a0 And if she was, what must a man with a weak foot be feeling?\u00a0 She stepped back and smiled at him.\u00a0 \u201cWe can do this inside, instead of out here for all the world to see.\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss chuckled.\u00a0 \u201cAll the world\u2019s took off and left us, in case you ain\u2019t noticed.\u00a0 Besides,\u201d he added as she moved toward the house, \u201cyou are my world.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMy, but don\u2019t you talk flowery,\u201d she teased, \u201cand here I was thinkin\u2019 you were a man that had his feet on the ground.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cJust one of \u2018em,\u201d he teased back.\u00a0 \u201cDoc won\u2019t let me set the other down.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cGet on in here and stop your foolishness,\u201d she scolded softly, inclining her head toward the door.<\/p>\n \u201cYes, ma\u2019am,\u201d he said, sounding a lot meeker than his playful smile said was true.<\/p>\n *****<\/p>\n The days went by so quickly, days she wished would never end.\u00a0 At first she tried to stay professional, to carry herself as the nurse, there only to meet the needs of her patient, but by the second night she found herself perched on his lap, cuddling and kissing all the hours past supper.\u00a0 It was bliss; it was what marriage should have been and the most intimacy she\u2019d ever known with a man, there having been none in the way Wade had bedded her.\u00a0 Hoss didn\u2019t even suggest that they take that final step toward acting like man and wife, though, and she couldn\u2019t decide whether he didn\u2019t want her that way or he simply found it too hard with his foot still crippled up.\u00a0 That he held himself back out of respect and love never occurred to her.<\/p>\n Ten days after her minor surgery, the doctor came to remove the stitches.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s healing nicely,\u201d he said, \u201cand I think you\u2019ll be pleased with the result.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019ll still be a scar,\u201d she said, not quite making it a question because she already knew the truth in her heart.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019ll always be a scar,\u201d he admitted, \u201cbut it shouldn\u2019t be as noticeable, and it\u2019s already lighter, with more healing still to come.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDidn\u2019t mean it as a complaint,\u201d she said quickly.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m pleased already, and I thank you for your kindness.\u00a0 I\u2019ll have something I can give you on it, soon as Mr. Cartwright gets back from roundup.\u00a0 Not sure how much, seein\u2019 as how we never settled on a salary, but he seems like a fair man.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBen Cartwright?\u201d\u00a0 The doctor chuckled.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019ll find him beyond fair, but I\u2019m not concerned about my fee and I don\u2019t want you to be.\u201d\u00a0 He knew perfectly well that her bill would be paid, if not by her, then assuredly by either Ben or Hoss.\u00a0 They\u2019d done it for others they had far less personal interest in than Daniel Lynne Bartlett, the name she\u2019d given him for his records.<\/p>\n Since he was there, he checked on his other patient, too.\u00a0 \u201cI see you\u2019ve been obeying your doctor\u2019s orders,\u201d he said cheerily.<\/p>\n \u201cDadgum nurse won\u2019t let me do no less,\u201d Hoss grumbled, the twinkle in his eye negating his put-on grumpiness.<\/p>\n Dr. Martin clucked his tongue in apparent sympathy.\u00a0 \u201cYes, I can see how abused you are, not to mention how you\u2019re wasting away from lack of sustenance.\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss patted his belly.\u00a0 \u201cYep, it\u2019s a shame she don\u2019t cook no better than Hop Sing.\u201d\u00a0 He grinned broadly.\u00a0 \u201cNo worse, neither, though.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cUmm hmm. \u00a0Well, you stay off that foot, young fellow.\u00a0 It\u2019s doing better, but it will be weeks before it\u2019s ready to take on ranch work.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah.\u201d\u00a0 Hoss sighed.\u00a0 Weeks, too, before it was ready to do something else he wanted.<\/p>\n *****<\/p>\n A telegram arrived, telling Hoss of the successful sale of the cattle his family had driven to market and advising him of their expected date of return.<\/p>\n \u201cBad news?\u201d Dani asked, seeing the glumness come across his face.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat?\u00a0 Oh, no,\u201d he said.\u00a0 \u201cEverything\u2019s fine.\u00a0 Just Pa lettin\u2019 me know when they\u2019ll be back.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh.\u201d\u00a0 She suddenly understood his expression, and though she didn\u2019t realize it, the same emotion played on her own countenance.\u00a0 \u201cGuess that means I\u2019d better be makin\u2019 plans on what to do next.\u00a0 You reckon the doctor could find me more nursin\u2019 jobs?\u00a0 I think I\u2019m a fair hand at it, judgin\u2019 from how much better you\u2019re doin\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou do a great job, at that and everything,\u201d Hoss said, \u201cbut you don\u2019t got to be in any hurry.\u00a0 We\u2019d all be happy to have you stay on awhile.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI got to earn my keep,\u201d she said firmly, \u201cand I still got that doctorin\u2019 bill to pay off.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ll take care of that,\u201d Hoss said.<\/p>\n \u201cNo, sir, you will not.\u201d\u00a0 She planted her hands on her hips adamantly.\u00a0 \u201cYou got no obligation to me, and I pay my own bills.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019d like to have that obligation,\u201d Hoss said.\u00a0 He bit his tongue after the words came out.\u00a0 He knew what he wanted, but now wasn\u2019t the time to ask, not while he was laid up, feelin\u2019 like less than half a man.\u00a0 She deserved better.<\/p>\n The hands stayed planted, and her chin came up defiantly.\u00a0 \u201cI won\u2019t be a kept woman,\u201d she announced.<\/p>\n \u201cGood lands, Dani Lynne!\u00a0 I wasn\u2019t suggestin\u2019 that.\u201d\u00a0 Hoss lurched to his feet in protest.\u00a0 \u201cWhat kind of man you think I am?\u201d<\/p>\n Her hands flew to cover her reddened face.\u00a0 \u201cThe best ever,\u201d she choked out.\u00a0 \u201cI shouldn\u2019t\u2019ve said . . . even thought . . . oh, Hoss!\u201d<\/p>\n Doctor\u2019s orders thrown to the wind, he covered the patch of space between them and took her in his arms.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m thinkin\u2019 it, too, little darlin\u2019,\u201d he said.\u00a0 \u201cDani Lynne, I wanna ask you to be my wife, but I wanted to do it right, and I\u2019m afeared if I go down on one knee, I won\u2019t make it up again.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cJust say it,\u201d she said, \u201cand that\u2019ll be as right as anything out of a fairy story.\u201d<\/p>\n He took her hand and kissed the tips of her fingers.\u00a0 \u201cDani darlin\u2019, will you marry me?\u201d<\/p>\n She stood on tiptoe and kissed him.\u00a0 \u201cCan\u2019t believe you want me, but I want you more\u2019n anything.\u00a0 Yes, Hoss, oh, yes!\u201d<\/p>\n There being nothing wrong with his arms, he picked her up and swung her from side to side, although his own feet never moved.<\/p>\n \u201cPut me down!\u201d she demanded.\u00a0 \u201cYou ain\u2019t supposed to put any weight on that foot, and here you are puttin\u2019 yours and mine both on it.\u00a0 I\u2019m still your nurse, and I\u2019m givin\u2019 you a direct order.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes, ma\u2019am,\u201d he said, setting her down and accepting her help back to his father\u2019s thickly padded armchair.\u00a0 \u201cJust so\u2019s you know, though: once we\u2019re hitched, I give the orders.\u00a0 Can\u2019t have you thinkin\u2019 you wear the pants in the family.\u201d<\/p>\n The same sort of remark, made by Wade Bartlett, would have set her trembling, but she knew Hoss well enough now that she felt no dread.\u00a0 They were continents apart, those two men, and she knew this one would never give her cause to fear.\u00a0 He loved her, and that love filled her with all the confidence she needed to give him her trust.\u00a0 \u201cLike dresses better, anyway,\u201d was all she said.<\/p>\n He laughed and pulled her into his lap.<\/p>\n *****<\/p>\n The family returned, rowdy with news of how well the drive had gone.\u00a0 \u201cWe got along just fine without you,\u201d Little Joe assured him, thinking to relieve any guilt Hoss felt over leaving them a man short.<\/p>\n Hoss, who no longer felt that anyway, snorted.\u00a0 \u201cGot along just fine without you, too, Shortshanks.\u201d\u00a0 He grinned.\u00a0 \u201cFound me a partner who lets me win at checkers.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t let you,\u201d Dani said.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m just no good at it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re good at better things.\u201d\u00a0 Hoss\u2019s shining face as he beamed at her made it almost unnecessary, but he told them anyway.\u00a0 \u201cMe and Dani Lynne\u2019s gettin\u2019 hitched!\u201d<\/p>\n Little Joe whooped and almost jumped on his big brother before he realized that Hoss was still on crutches and propelled himself onto Dani, instead.\u00a0 \u201cI told you!\u201d he said, turning back to Pa and Adam.\u00a0 \u201cDidn\u2019t I tell you?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cRepeatedly,\u201d Adam said.\u00a0 He extended his hand to Hoss.\u00a0 \u201cNot that we couldn\u2019t have guessed ourselves.\u00a0 You\u2019re a lucky man, brother.\u201d\u00a0 After shaking hands, he turned to give Dani a kiss on her good cheek in consideration that the other might still be tender.\u00a0 \u201cAnd you are a brave woman,\u201d he declared, \u201cto take on the Cartwrights.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhen\u2019s the happy event to take place?\u201d Ben asked.<\/p>\n \u201cWe ain\u2019t decided yet,\u201d Hoss said.\u00a0 \u201cKind of depends on me, I reckon.\u00a0 I\u2019m bound and determined I\u2019m walkin\u2019 the aisle on my own two legs.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI keep tellin\u2019 him I\u2019d gladly push him down it in one of them rolling chairs,\u201d Dani said, \u201cbut he won\u2019t have it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNope.\u00a0 We\u2019re doin\u2019 this right,\u201d Hoss said.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019ve already made the right start,\u201d Ben observed, \u201cby loving each other.\u00a0 The rest will fall into place, trust me.\u201d<\/p>\n His three sons smiled and nodded in agreement, and Dani, who\u2019d had time now to learn the family history, joined them, ready to be one with the Cartwrights in every way.<\/p>\n *****<\/p>\n The wedding took place a little over two months later.\u00a0 Though his heel still smarted a bit when he moved his foot certain ways, the Achilles tendon seemed basically healed, and he felt he\u2019d be able to escort his new bride down the aisle, when the time came.\u00a0 \u201cYou got the ring?\u201d he asked Little Joe as they stood at the front of the church.<\/p>\n \u201cFor the fifth time, yes,\u201d Little Joe muttered under his breath.<\/p>\n Hoss had debated over which of his brothers to have as his best man, but Dani had settled it when she pointed out that they would never have met if it hadn\u2019t been for the rascal and his ill-fated gold mine map.\u00a0 Adam had understood, and he\u2019d played an important part, too, in helping his younger brother select an engagement ring and wedding band.\u00a0 \u201cLittle Joe may have gone looking for gold,\u201d Adam had said when the choice was made, \u201cbut you found a real diamond in the desert, brother.\u201d<\/p>\n Dani\u2019s face shone like a diamond, too, as she walked the aisle toward her intended on the arm of his father, and as Hoss walked her back down it after their first kiss as husband and wife, not even diamonds could outshine the brightness of their united happiness.<\/p>\n *****<\/p>\n Nearly four months passed before Dani was sure, but she couldn\u2019t bring herself to tell Hoss she was with child, mostly from shame of what she still held secret.\u00a0 She just hadn\u2019t been able to tell him about the difficulty she might have in childbirth.\u00a0 As tenderly as he loved her, she knew he\u2019d want to forego having children altogether, rather than cause her pain, and she could not permit him to make that sacrifice.\u00a0 He was a man who deserved children, a man who would make a wonderful father, and she wouldn\u2019t deprive those future children of one like him, either.<\/p>\n Her motives weren\u2019t completely selfless, though.\u00a0 She wanted children, too; she always had, just not Wade\u2019s children, not children to be brought up under the lash or blows from his fists.\u00a0 She wanted them to shower with love, of course, but also to love her back and to remember her.\u00a0 Ever since she was a tiny girl, she\u2019d felt like such a nothing that she feared no one would miss her when she was gone or even remember that she had existed.\u00a0 Children would provide that remembrance, just as she remembered and cherished her own dear mother, as Hoss, too, remembered and cherished his, though he\u2019d never really known her.\u00a0 That was the way it was meant to be: a loving family that endured beyond the final separation, with hopes of reuniting again in the heaven to come.<\/p>\n For now, the heaven here on earth was enough for her, and she wanted no clouds to hover over their happiness and the joyous prospect of the fruit it had produced.\u00a0 They were still living at the Ponderosa, while Adam was building them a home beyond her dreams.\u00a0 \u201cWe need it big,\u201d Hoss had insisted, adding with his bashful grin, \u201cWe\u2019re gonna fill it full of young\u2019uns, remember?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI remember,\u201d she\u2019d whispered, \u201cand we will.\u201d\u00a0 The best way to ensure she kept that vow, of course, was to also keep her secret.\u00a0 She wasn\u2019t sure she could manage that in the throes of labor, but all women screamed in labor, didn\u2019t they?\u00a0 Maybe her tender, gentle-hearted husband would never have to know that her pain was worse than what most women felt.\u00a0 And maybe God, who had worked so many miracles for her already, would grant one more, and the problem she feared just wouldn\u2019t happen.<\/p>\n *****<\/p>\n The new house was ready and waiting, furnished and supplied, down to the nursery with its stack of soft, hemmed diapers, but they decided not to move in until after the baby came.\u00a0 Hoss, who was back to working full days on the ranch, didn\u2019t like the thought of her being alone in that big house when her time came, and she\u2019d agreed.\u00a0 Hop Sing hovered over her, treating her like a princess.\u00a0 So did all the Cartwright men, for that matter.\u00a0 Her fairy tale had come true, and it was better than any she\u2019d read as a child, better and sweeter for all the sour that had come before, because she appreciated it as no one who had lived in a fairy tale her whole life could have.\u00a0 She found herself believing that even that impossible miracle she\u2019d dreamed of was about to come true in pain-free birthing.<\/p>\n Then her labor started, and all such nonsense fled from her head.\u00a0 Eve had settled her fate long before, back in the Garden, and it was obvious that Dani, too, was going to give birth in pain, as had every other woman from the dawn of creation.\u00a0 Out the window went all thoughts of keeping her cries from revealing her secret.\u00a0 Let him know!\u00a0 She no longer cared.\u00a0 All she wanted was for it to end and for her to hold in her arms the half-grown giant now pushing his or her way through the birth canal.<\/p>\n She knew when it happened; she felt the bone break as the head pushed through and knew there was no way to keep Hoss from knowing.\u00a0 She\u2019d forgotten that the pain would last for weeks, perhaps months or even be there always, the way his poor foot seemed to hurt him from time to time, so there\u2019d be no hiding it.\u00a0 He\u2019d be upset with her for not telling him, but at least they\u2019d have their\u2014what was it?\u00a0 Doc had said, she was sure, but she couldn\u2019t quite recall.\u00a0 She unfolded the blanket around the bundle in her arms and peeked just as Hoss walked in.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a boy,\u201d she whispered, awed by the tiny toes and fingers, even as she wondered how anything that small could have felt so huge on his way into this world.<\/p>\n Hoss grinned.\u00a0 \u201cI know.\u00a0 Doc told me.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cCan we name him after your pa?\u201d she asked.\u00a0 She\u2019d never have named a child after her own, but Ben Cartwright had become a true father to her over the months she\u2019d spent under his roof and she wanted to honor him.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019d be right proud,\u201d Hoss said.\u00a0 \u201cHow about Benjamin Daniel?\u00a0 It\u2019s a good name for a boy.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt didn\u2019t turn out to be so bad for a girl,\u201d Dani said with a smile.<\/p>\n \u201cA rose . . . or a diamond . . . by any other name,\u201d Hoss said and bending over her, he kissed her tenderly.\u00a0 Dr. Martin had told him what happened during the birth and how Dani had known all along that it might and still taken the risk to give them this child.\u00a0 He was a mite put out that she\u2019d kept it from him, but he understood why and talking about it could wait.\u00a0 For now, he just wanted to cherish her and care for her and the new little Cartwright their love had brought forth.<\/p>\n ~~The End~~<\/p>\n Passing reference is made to \u201cThe Rescue,\u201d by Steve McNeil.<\/p>\n The cards (words\/phrase) dealt to me were:<\/p>\n Achilles tendon <\/p>\n
\nCoccyx
\nFear of being invisible or forgotten
\nHealthy children
\nMap to a gold mine<\/p>\n